LONDON–Britain’s Orkney Islands are set to become the first region of the UK to have an uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) mail delivery service.
UK postal delivery company Royal Mail has teamed with UAS service company Skyports to provide the island chain with a UAS-based mail distribution service.
The UAS—called the Orkney I-Port—initially will operate for three months with the aim of extending into the future. Skyports will use Brazilian UAS manufacturer Speedbird Aero’s DLV-2 multicopter air system for the services that will fly from Stromness to make deliveries to Royal Mail staff on the islands of Graemsay and Hoy.
Once the mail has arrived on the islands, postal workers will deliver it using their usual island routes.
Skyports says the DLV-2 with its 6-kg (13.2-lb.) payload and 16-km (9.9-mi.) range is well suited for the service and already has been used in initial trials performed in July.
Use of the UAS is expected to make mail deliveries to the islands more efficient and reliable.
Postal delivery services are currently dependent on ferry schedules. Bad weather can prevent the ferries from docking on the islands, particularly in the winter when the seas can become rough. The islands are just off the northernmost coast of Scotland.
"Everyday, the mail comes into the Orkney Islands on a plane and then it cascades out from one main airport and gets transported to the islands by ferry over the next 24-48 hours," explains Alex Brown, director of Skyports Drone Services. "What we're doing is replacing those ferry transports with drones, and we're doing it for two particular islands."
Speaking to Aviation Week, Brown said that the UAS can deliver mail and packages in just 24. hrs., compared to up to 48 hours by ferry. The largest operating constraint is wind, he says, as the DLV-2 cannot safely operate in wind speeds greater than 30 knots. That can be an issue in the Orkney Islands, he says, which is known for strong winds, particularly during the winter season.
“So the key question for us–and the challenge for us–is how much uptime can our drones provide over the full year relative to what the ferries can run?” Brown said. “Typically, you’ll find the ferries stop running around that same 30 knot mark, so it’s actually roughly equal. But the proof is in the pudding, and that’s why we’re out there walking the talk with our drone.”
The relatively short distances associated with the service means that the flights only need to use extended-visual-line-of-sight permissions rather than beyond-visual-line-of-sight permissions, making it easier to secure approval under the extending regulatory frameworks.
The service follows trials of drones elsewhere in Scotland, including medical equipment supplies in Dundee and Angus and in the Western Isles. In those previous trials, Brown says the drones were able to achieve around 70% uptime, and the remaining 30% of downtime was mainly due to winds.
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