Amazon Air is the name of the retail giant’s new drone delivery services. It’s hoping to start dropping off packages in the capital of the Commonwealth soon.
Carmen Simboli is an Amazon air space integration specialist who said their MK30 drones are loudest when launching and when lowering from their 400 ft. flight path to drop a delivery.
“If you want to compare it to an electric leaf blower. So, that is a common noise if you want to compare it, so it’s that small 30 second window," Simboli told Radio IQ. "When it flies overhead, it’s pretty much imperceptible."
The drones would launch from Amazon’s RIC4 facility near the Richmond Raceway and inside Delegate Destiny LeVere Bolling’s district. The Henrico County Democrat attended a meet-and-greet event hosted by Amazon Air Thursday evening and said they assured her the facilities would add, not take away existing jobs.
“I can only take them for what they tell me, right?" LeVere Bolling told Radio IQ. "But what I do know is, when they roboticized RIC4, I didn’t know anyone, and I know a lot of folks there from the community, [who] lost their jobs.”
Simboli said in other cities where Amazon Air has launched it added about 10 jobs to help with the drone fleet.
Notably much of the legislative lift to authorize this kind of drone use was approved years ago, and now localities, including Henrico County and Richmond city, will have to approve their use. But Loudoun County Delegate and Transportation Committee member David Reid said he’s optimistic about the future of drone use in the Commonwealth, including, eventually, for moving people.
“Something that would be comparable to an Uber. You’d get in it and then it would take you within 90 miles to your other location," Reid told Radio IQ. "And it may or may not have a pilot.”
Amazon said they’re looking to launch quote “when they can.” That local approval will be needed first. But they’re hoping to start launching drones by year’s end.
