Related Articles
A CURRY house owner’s bid to launch a drone delivery service will struggle to get off the ground, according to aircarft experts.
Asif Ali, 48, trialled an air meals service with Shish Mahal regular John Crawford, 60, who pilots the flying gizmos.
1
And after a maiden test flight, Asif hoped meals would soon be flying from his restaurant in Glasgow’s west end.
But drone training experts COPTRZ says it won’t happen until it can be guaranteed they won’t crash.
Training boss Duncan Hewitson said: “Whilst the idea of delivering a takeaway meal via drone is certainly an exciting concept, it is very much a concept until a framework is developed to enable multiple drone operations safely, with no risk of collision.
“There are significant risks to the public if we were to see multiple drones, regularly overflying crowds in congested areas.
“Further developments in the failsafe features of commercially available aircraft are needed also which will undoubtedly come with time.”
John’s drones can travel at 50mph, fly for 30 minutes and can carry a 1kg load offering Indian food lovers the chance to get their vindaloos in the blink of an eye.
But Duncan says the idea won’t be able to take off until drones are designed to automatically avoid each other and also given dedicated flight paths.
He added: “Developments in the drone sector, paired with regular reform in legislation may well open the door for delivery via drone to become the norm.
“Companies such as Royal Mail and Amazon Prime Air have trialled these methods over the past few years however the lack of framework is the main inhibitor.
“The majority of remote pilots must always fly their aircraft within VLOS (Visual Line of Sight). This means that the unmanned aircraft must be able to be clearly seen by the remote pilot at all times when it is airborne.
ROYAL RIFT
Meghan Markle blasted as ‘unworthy’ & ‘fake’ over Oprah interview in shock rant
MYSTIC MEG
March 20: You’re ready to ditch routine and write your own timetable
STORY TIME
From Harry Styles to Stephen Fry – the celebs who’ll tire you out in the bedroom
NOTED!
Woman shares the ‘passive aggressive note’ she received in her takeaway
“By doing this, the remote pilot is able to monitor the unmanned aircraft’s flight path and so manoeuvre it clear of anything that it may collide with.”
John, boss of drone services firm Eye in the Sky Glasgow, developed the scheme during lockdown after seeing crowds queuing outside takeaways.
He took the idea to Asif and co-owner Andle Ali and they trialled a flight outside the Shish – famed for inventing the chicken tikka masala – in December.
We pay for your stories and videos! Do you have a story or video for The Scottish Sun? Email us at scoop@thesun.co.uk or call 0141 420 5300
