This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Tamara Hancock, who lives in the greater Phoenix area — one of the first areas to have access to Amazon’s Prime Air drone delivery service, which is expanding to 500 US cities by the end of the year. She’s used the service over a dozen times and enjoys it for the convenience and fun. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
We live in one of the very first pilot areas in the US for Amazon drone delivery.
When I first saw that the service was available, I was like, “We’re definitely trying this out!” I’m a professor and content creator, and the basis of the content on my channel is that I really like to learn and explore literally everything and find out how it works, from food to drone delivery.
My daughter’s a clarinet player, and I found out that a package of reeds could be delivered by drone, so I thought, why not? It’s not something super fragile that, if dropped from a height, would break.
I ordered it, picked the drone delivery option for $2.99, and immediately went to my backyard to wait the hour or so for the delivery. When the drone came, I hid myself partially under a tree, because if the optics on the drone sense a human or an animal, it will abort delivery and leave so that it doesn’t hurt anybody or anything.
After the package dropped, I took it inside, and we unpackaged everything. Everything was intact and great. It was awesome.
It’s cool to watch the drones
My husband’s an aerospace engineer, and my kids and I are really nerdy, so we get really excited about aviation and things like that. The drone warehouse is about three miles from us, and there’s a road behind it that you can park on. You can see the drones taking off and landing there, and we like to park there and spot them.
I’ve probably used Amazon drone delivery over a dozen times, both for the convenience and for the sake of content. I just gauge whether I want to pay the extra few dollars to have it delivered.
It’s worth it to me because of the price of gas. For me to go to the music store and buy those reeds, it would cost way more. Sometimes, though, it’s not worth the price difference.
Once we were in need of something for my daughter’s school project — pipe cleaners, markers, or something. We could’ve gone to the Walmart down the road and gotten it, but I was also baking bread and had other things going on in the house, so it was a lot more convenient to have it sent to my house via drone. The convenience of it is a huge factor for us.
There was once an issue in the area where two drones collided midair with a construction crane. They shut down drone delivery for about 48 hours in order to investigate. I wasn’t in town when it happened, which I’m kind of bummed about.
I understand all of the concerns about drones
My neighbor got a delivery a couple of days ago, early in the morning, and I was in bed and could hear it. But it’s no more annoying than his leaf blower, which he also uses early in the mornings.
You don’t really hear the drone until it’s almost low enough to drop the package, and it’s there for less than a minute. We also live in the flight path of an airport, so I hear airplanes going over all the time. It’s no more disruptive than that.
I think the 35 seconds of noise you get are worth the convenience, novelty, and all of the fun of it.
What caught me completely off guard was how windy the drone is, which is extremely disruptive when it drops. We haven’t really seen an impact on our yard, though there was one day we had freshly mowed our lawn, and grass clippings did fly around a bit.
The biggest question that I get on my drone delivery videos is, “What if it’s fragile? What if it breaks?” I decided to do an experiment.
The only thing I could find that was deliverable by drone was a bottle of drink syrup. It was in a plastic bottle, not glass, so I can see why Amazon thought that it would be fine.
When the box was delivered, it hit the edge of our cement patio, which caused the lid to crack and break. You can choose where your drop goes, but I’ve been having some technical issues, so I’m unable to move my spot. I’m working with the Amazon technical team to get it moved onto my grass, but for now, packages are landing on the edge of the concrete.
Another concern I hear is about pets, animals, or people. If the optics recognize that there’s anything down there, it will abort delivery. My 21-year-old son and I actually tried it once. He walked out into the backyard to look up at the drone, and it aborted delivery. You have a one-hour delivery window, so you know when it’s coming. If your dogs are in the backyard, bring them in.
People also shared privacy concerns in the comments of my first drone video, so I looked into it. The navigation system does use cameras and optics to guide where it’s going, like Tesla and Waymo self-driving cars. When I first set up a delivery, I was given the option to tell it not to save that footage. I think they’ve made this permanent; it’s not really a big concern for me.
In terms of drivers losing their livelihood, I don’t see it as an issue. A friend who works at the Amazon warehouse told me that a lot of people are being cross-trained, so employees can move to different locations if needed.
There’s a five-pound limit to drone-delivered items, and it has to fit within the huge box that goes in the drone. The majority of things we order from Amazon are heavier than five pounds and bigger than the box, so we’re still getting regular deliveries. This is just a quicker way for certain things to be delivered.
Embrace the technology
Drone delivery is here to stay. It’s not going anywhere.
In the last two years, I haven’t seen anything that’s causing major environmental harm. I’d say enjoy it, have fun with it, and try it at least once.
We need to embrace the technology as it’s coming in. Don’t be afraid of something new, just because it’s new. Approach things with a grain of salt, but also with a sense of wonder and excitement.
An Amazon spokesperson said, “We appreciate hearing from Amazon customers about their experiences using our fast, convenient Prime Air drone delivery service. Prime Air offers up to millions of items at everyday low prices and we are excited to bring this service to more cities and towns around the country.”
Do you have a story to share about your experience with Amazon Prime Air? Contact this reporter at [email protected].
