Luddite comics, you guys. This thing is the future and you know it!

Now this is funny. However, the undertone is to replace as many people with machines a possible.

Amazon's drone delivery plan still faces FAA hurdles - CBS News

LONG LONG LONG time off.

Congress is involved; LONG LONG LONG time plus 10 years and triple the cost.

Senate to hold hearing to discuss Amazon package delivery drones | Fox News

Pretty good publicity stunt.

No worry, drone flying will be contracted out to Emirates Delivery (formally, Airlines ;) ) will be "flown" remotely by expiate pilots, all based in Dubai and required to live there. No Union, not allowed in the UAE. :eek::mad:

hee hee
 

ex·pi·ate

/ˈɛkhttp://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/...una/thinsp.pngspiˌeɪt/ Show Spelled [ek-spee-eyt] Show IPA verb (used with object), ex·pi·at·ed, ex·pi·at·ing. to atone for; make amends or reparation for: to expiate one's crimes.

It didn't look right, but spell check didn't squawk. I knew the human checkers would jump in soon enough :rolleyes:

Shoulda used a drone.

Didn't take long
 

delivery drones, set to challenge Amazon's Prime Air
BYTERRENCE O'BRIEN 2 hours ago 121


When Jeff Bezos went on 60 Minutes and mentioned that Amazon was experimenting with delivery drones, we knew it was only a matter of time before other companies revealed similar plans. And, one day later, sources at UPS have told The Verge that the delivery giant has its own unmanned flying couriers in the lab. Publicly, the company is largely keeping silent, saying only that "the commercial use of drones is an interesting technology and we'll continue to evaluate it." But Ryan Calo, a law professor specializing in drones, isn't afraid to speculate about what the program might look like. While he doesn't rule out Amazon's ambitious vision of an octo-copter dropping a package at your doorstep, he believes the first versions will be much more limited in scope. For example, he foresees a company like UPS using the self-piloted vehicles to move packages from airports and major cities to more remote pickup points. It wouldn't be quite as convenient as having a robot bring your family's Christmas gifts to your home, but it would certainly speed up delivery while keeping the cost in check.

It would hardly be a surprise if UPS beat other delivery firms and Amazon to the punch on this one, as it invests quite heavily in R&D. According to a spokesperson, "UPS invests more in technology than any other company in the delivery business, and we're always planning for the future." That's hardly a surprise coming from the company that already offers 3D printing services at some of its retail locations.

This is a bigger threat to delivery vans than to aircraft and pilots. With a ten mile range, (even stretching that to 50), this does not threaten what we do. Furthermore, who is going to deliver the goods to the supply centers if its not airplanes, rail, and long-haul trucking.

Think about all the little Ralphies with their Red Rider Repeating BB Guns. Bye bye drones.

Think about the first excited 6 yearold that runs up to the thing in excitement that the package is there and then loses an arm. Or the first one that fails and crashes onto a busy highway. Or the first time one comes into contact with a banner tower, crop duster, helicopter, etc.



This is never gonna happen.

Agree. But I've got 35 years left in this career.

Is bending over backwards trying to get hired at UPS or FedEx still a good idea?

I'm not convinced that it is. I think it's optimistic to think that FedEx will still have 4000+ highly paid human pilots through the 2040s.

Sorry if that sounds like flaming; it's not. I've honestly been putting a lot of thought into this lately.

Bezos PR machine:

Amazon's Drone Delivery Fiasco | News & Opinion | PCMag.com

What can I say, FedEx and Ups are much more profitable per mile flown, per flight, per pilot then their pax carrying contemporaries. Will it be the same 10 years from now is just a guess. Pay your nickel take your chances.

I think a bigger threat to the UPS or FedEx package delivery from the consumer online shopping angle is the future of BigBox retailers as decentralized Distribution Centers. 60% of the population lives within 5 miles of a Walmart. You order online and once a day a few trucks leave the local wally world and deliver your goods. No ground shipper involved. Throw in your groceries, etc. The same model could be extrapolated to Target, Home Depot, Lowes, etc. I think the one thing is for sure, there will be a different business model in the shipping industry in 20 years. Purple and Brown will still be there making money off it, but maybe in a different way.

Is this really a bigger issue than 3D printing? That could eliminate the need for airplanes entirely.

Then there is this.

…or not?

Despite Amazon?s Big Plans, the Feds Are Grounding the Drone Industry | The Exchange - Yahoo Finance

Z

You can be replaced by a transformer ...
 

Should trim the trees on the roadside nicely. As for the phone poles and elec wires I think they will win.

If I have learned one thing from reading the biographies of Jeff Bezos and Steve Jobs, it is that their company strives to control the entire customer experience from start to finish.

One place that Amazon has never had control over is the shipping segment. Amazon controls everything from the website where you make your purchase to when the distribution center puts your package on a UPS or USPS truck. But they have no control over it from that time until it reaches your door step. That will change someday.

Just look at what happened with UPS this Christmas. Although it was ultimately UPS that screwed up, Amazon will no doubt receive some of the blame as it did not deliver their packages as promised.

UAV's in the national airspace are coming. There's a congressional mandate requiring the FAA to study it and then make it happen. Do you need to worry about this tomorrow? No. 5 years from now? Not really. But at some point in the future, I can see UAV's being used for shipping a reality. Like anything else, there will be some market segments where it makes sense (premium dollar, fast delivery), and probably some segments where it still may be cheaper to deliver by truck (large furniture that isn't time sensitive). And there is always the possibility that FedEx and UPS can jump into that market too.

Amazon already does in house or sub contract delivery of a lot of its local "distribution center" products. I assume they think it is more efficient. Some guy with a laser local name tag and a white dodge econovan jammed with packages would make deliveries in my neighborhood. Probably 40% of my Amazon deliveries came this way. So I guess my three main points are:

1. Amazon has found ways to cut FDX and UPS out of some of their deliveries.

2. Still does not make the drone concept economical. The white van probably made one round trip and 200 deliveries in 4 hours to local apartments.

3. Just kidding about 3 points.

I don't think ups or FedEx worried as much about Amazon as we think. Remember ups & FedEx were just as big 10 yes ago when there was no amazon. Drone or laser delivery or whatever they called just remember amazon needs these 2 as much as they do amazon if not more.

This is a reflection of all large corporations and their desire to automate as much as possible and reduce human workforce as much as possible to increase the bottom line. This will in turn bite them because unemployment will increase & less people will be able to buy their products.

Greed.

That is why I only buy American buggy whips.

Can't find the like button so +1. Once again proof that we are our own worst enemies.

Exactly, great post!

Non sequitir. Logical fallacy. Unemployment does not necessarily follow technological advancements.

Exactly. With every technological advancement in aviation, more jobs have been created. 120 years ago, there were no pilots, no ATC, no bag tossers, no dispatchers, no MX, etc.

Someone will have to build/operate/maintain/repair/program these drones (that we likely won't see for a long long time anyway).

And honestly, these drones just threaten to replace delivery drivers more than large cargo jets and their pilots.

Curious, and honest question- why don't you think UAS's will replace cargo pilots (eventually)?

This is 15 year old news
 

I found a white paper on the internet a while back from a NASA study that identified drone delivery.

1- UAS require a HUGE ground capital infrastructure investment for network connectivity.

So every destination, and every conceivable alternate would need this infrastructure.

2- Remote/satellite 2-way connectivity AND lots & lots of bandwidth. Another HUGE capital investment required. I see a lost SATCOM data message on most every flight across the Atlantic & pacific at some time during the flight.

3- Secure connectivity -the US loses many UAVs because of connectivity. jam resistant as well.

4- Someone must still control them airborne & ground ops, de-ice them, taxi them, avoid crunching them

The differences in application for the military is the low density of operations. There's not that many different locations they operate from/to, and there's not that many in the air at any one time.

contrast that to commercial aviation, and it's an entirely opposite scenario.

It would still be nice to get UAS/Drone into our scope clause for the future, "FedEx pilots fly them and no Third Party Operators"

I'm sure management would sign off on that one in exchange for PBS.

Just like the A-380 pay scale.

No thanks.

According to FWS it's not a real player anyway right now so it shouldn't cost much. If it is a player then we should have some scope IMO. I'd rather buy things cheap when you don't think you'd need it in some cases... anyway, worth a discussion...

"Every technological advancement in aviation"? You mean like MD-10s?:eek::rolleyes:

Sure it takes a lot more people to maintain 40 year old DC-10s then 20 year old MD-11s, even with the glass swap out.

And, your point is that tech advance costs jobs?:confused: