Beer drone delivery service shut down by FAA

One of the most talked about stories in the delivery industry last year was the topic of drone delivery. From various companies overseas talking about deploying the solution to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos unveiling an automated flying machine that would be used to make deliveries in urban areas, drone delivery is making strides.

According to Bezos, this kind of delivery still has several major hurdles to overcome before it becomes a standard process. The biggest one is the FAA and the organization has already shut down one drone delivery service in Wisconsin.

A recent article from the blog Geek.com profiled the company Lakemaid Beer and spoke with its president, Jack Supple. Upon seeing Bezos speak about it, he had the idea with a specific customer base in mind.

His idea was to deliver 12 packs of beer to ice fishermen on the nearby frozen lakes. Through the use of a mobile application, users were able to enter their GPS coordinates and the drone makes the delivery. This is allowed by FAA regulations as long as the flight remains under 400 feet. Because the delivery takes place over a frozen lake, the buildings and power lines that complicate this process are not a problem.

The company created a video highlighting the service and was planning on purchasing a $15,000  octo-copter to start deliveries. Unfortunately the FAA took notice and shut them down for two reasons. The first is that the video was shot at Lake Waconia, which is 30 miles from the Minneapolis/St. Paul international airport, and the second is because the video is an ad, and drones are not currently for commercial use in the U.S.

Supple is not challenging the ruling and said he will wait for Amazon — which is far better equipped for a fight against the FAA — to take up the battle in the next few years and try it again if commercial use is allowed.

This shows that delivery technology is growing and the next few years could experience some major innovations. However, new fads do not mean they will immediately make things better. Having a reliable logistics service supporting your shipment and warehousing needs, any business can ensure that its deliveries arrive on time.