Aaand, In Other News...

[Lenny Solidus]

This kind of thing fails to surprise me at all it's just not that often you hear about a case so downright unashamedly blatant. Rip to the old fella.

[Wrathbone]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland- ... d-66340600

I have family in Orkney that I’ve visited almost every year for the last 20 years, so I’ve a fair idea as to why this could go disastrously wrong. Orkney is windy - VERY windy, most of the time, as in the sort of wind where you frequently can lean into it and not fall over. There have been times where I’ve been unable to open a car door because of the gales battering it.

Now I don’t profess to be an expert in the flight performance of drones, but if I had to imagine one of the most inappropriate environments in which to operate one, Orkney would be high on the list. On the surface it looks ideal as most houses are sat in open areas with plenty of field space around, but clearly they haven’t considered that they’re going to have drones being blown unceremoniously into puffins on an hourly basis.

[Animalmother]

Setup to fail maybe?

[Raid]

Setup to fail maybe?

It's possible, but would be awfully short sighted as this is an obvious way RM could save on delivery costs.

Drones are actually quite good at dealing with wind. Even the very light DJI ones can manage surprisingly strong gusts (and they're drastically better at doing so than they used to be), but I can't pretend I know how this scales. Given the payload of these things is 6kg (as a reference point the last DJI drone I flew only weighed 480g for the entire aircraft), the drone itself is probably capable of dealing quite well with moderate winds, at the cost of endurance.

Honestly this could just be considered an acid test; Orkney must be one of the most hostile environments that a regular postal service has to deal with, and I'd like to think they wouldn't just throw a bog-standard aircraft into those circumstances and act surprised if it doesn't work. The drone manufacturer's website does state that it operates in "favorable weather conditions", but doesn't really elaborate on that. I dare say Orkney gusts would not be considered favourable.

[Wrathbone]

Setup to fail maybe?

Could be, but I'd guess it's just incompetence from people who pointed at a remote part of the map and have no idea what they're in for.

Thinking about it further, even if a drone successfully delivers a package to somewhere near the house, the chance of the package remaining there during windy weather for more than a few seconds is unlikely. The only way residents will know it's been delivered is probably going to be by email or some notification, which seems reasonable enough until you factor in the unreliable phone signal and terrible internet access, so it could be an age before they know to look for the parcel (now floating somewhere in the North Sea). Posties are on a first name basis with many of the people they deliver to, so for instance my aunt and uncle's postie knows that he can leave post in a little side shed away from the weather if they're not in. Not really an option for a drone.

Gonna need some popcorn to watch how badly this could go.

[Raid]

I don't think this is final leg delivery service, it's going to drop things at a collection point for local posties.

[Animalmother]

Track my package....

Your package is currently: On its way to Norway.
ETA: Depending on tides...1 - 3 years

Thank for using RM Drone Service....

[Wrathbone]

I don't think this is final leg delivery service, it's going to drop things at a collection point for local posties.

That makes more sense. I'm still dubious that this is in any way a good idea.

[Raid]

I know enough to think it's worth at least trying. I do agree with your skepticism, particularly as there are clearly going to be significant periods where it simply won't work at all and they'll still need all of the old equipment to fall back on.

[Sly Boots]

I know enough to think it's worth at least trying. I do agree with your skepticism, particularly as there are clearly going to be significant periods where it simply won't work at all and they'll still need all of the old equipment to fall back on.

Plan B:

[Sly Boots]

Looks like there's still hope I could make it as an Olympic athlete

[Wrathbone]

Channelling that Eddie the Eagle spirit!

[Sly Boots]

Channelling that Eddie the Eagle spirit!

The Somalian Snail

[eny]

The divination of competition.

Sometimes advance comes from seeing how far behind you might be...

[Alan]

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-bir ... 573440.amp