Ok, I’ve been thinking about this too much…Is this feasible? I wanted to do a drone delivery as a bit of a ‘stunt’ and have got this idea of flying out over the sea exactly 1km from the foreshore with a spotter to a platform/ship and deliver a McDonalds burger. Then make a return flight. The recipient would be under my control via telephone (earpiece). It seems like such a flight would be permissible under General Exemption E 4853 of air navigation order 1294 as long as the flight was not commercial.
Spot on ! wanna team up for for the service ? one mavic out,the other mavic in ! Later,if it " takes off ",we could add a bigger drone or two,for the large,family orders. Now that would be "Inspire-ing !
Where would you want to do this? May need to check airspace around coastal areas as some used for military ops and the like. You’d also need to ensure that you’re at least 50m from any other vessel not in your control, and this will be a changing parameter. Consideration needs to be given to potential flyaway, and back up landing sites in case of any systems or battery failures. The ship you’re looking to land on would also need to be in your control and you should check insurance both on your side and theirs in case of any restrictions. If it’s a commercial vessel, their SOPs may not allow but if private, then up to them.
It’s a great idea and you should do it, but just make sure you do it within the rules.
There was a guy who had an Ice cream cafe on the beach. He developed an app for people to order their ice creams from their deck chairs and the drone would deliver them. It gave a real uplift to his sales and your idea reminded me of that. Alas, the ice cream guy was before the restrictions came in and I doubt he’d be able to do it now until legislation changes, but it will come eventually I’m sure. Won’t be piloted deliveries though… All automated with a control centre I suspect.
