With Approval To Deliver Medical Supplies To Rural Areas In Virginia, Small Drones Display Their Usefulness

The use of small drones as delivery vehicles has been proposed for everything from the delivery of beer and pizza to the delivery of consumer goods purchased from large online companies such as Amazon. Now, with an overwhelming case of common sense being displayed, the FAA has approved drones for use in rural Virginia for delivering medical supplies.

According to a USA Today report, drones delivered medical supplies including asthma medication, and high blood pressure and diabetes medications to a rural health clinic in Virginia last week. In the report, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe is quoted as saying, “It's going to revolutionize the way we deliver health care; this is a Kitty Hawk moment."

While this recent approval to use drones for delivery purposes is new in the United States, it already has approval in Australia. The flight in Virginia was made as a demonstration by the Australian Flirtey company using one of their drones specifically designed for this purpose. According to their website, they specialize in working with companies that have time sensitive logistic needs. Their website also indicated that they are interested in short-term sponsored trials working with various organizations, and this appears to be the case in the Virginia operation.

We can’t help but notice the irony in the fact that this positive display of how small drones can be put to such a beneficial use came on the same day that drones were being used inappropriately in the area of a major brushfire that resulted in a delay of aerial firefighting operations.

We At ANN salute the State of Virginia for looking to the future of providing for the welfare of citizens in the rural areas. We also salute the Australian Flirtey Company for providing their expertise in this important demonstration of the practical side of small, commercially operated, drones.

(Image of Flirtey drone from Flirtey website)

FMI: www.flirtey.com