Amazon Drone Testing in Oregon Leads to Start of Deliveries

The deliveries will begin later in July to a small town in CA

 Amazon set to begin deliveries by drone

The small town of Lockeford, CA (population 3,500) is to be the first place to receive packages by air from Amazon. According to Oregon Public Broadcasting, the drones have been extensively tested in Eastern Oregon and did suffer their share of crashes.

OPB, citing documents from the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration), said Amazon suffered at least one crash per month from last May through February of this year. However, the company says those were older drone models that are not going to be used to deliver in CA. The tests are now at a point where the company believes it's ready to start deliveries for real.

The small town in CA was chosen, says OPB, because the FAA liked the area, and it's close to a large Amazon facility in Stockton, CA.

   The drones will be recognizable

 The Amazon delivery drones are hexagonal, like a stop sign, with six electric engines, and their payload is about five pounds.  Package sizes will not be much bigger than a shoebox, at least in the initial delivery phases.

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Dozens of flights around Pendleton took place to test the machine's ability to maneuver, perform its functions, and deliver its payload. But here in the PNW, we will have to wait a while before a drone drops off those new hiking boots we ordered online.