FAA Approves Flytrex Drone Delivery Service Expansion

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On-demand drone delivery company Flytrex has received FAA approval to expand its delivery area to a 1-nautical-mile radius from all of its operating stations in North Carolina. According to Flytrex, which delivers food and retail items to private homes via drones, the approval will expand its reach to include approximately 10,000 households. Deliveries will be conducted in partnership with drone services provider Causey Aviation Unmanned.

“Drone delivery is reaching new heights faster than anyone could have expected,” said Flytrex co-founder and CEO Yariv Bash. “This approval from the FAA will allow us to cater to the growing demand for fast and efficient on-demand delivery in suburban America. We look forward to continuing on this exciting flightpath, bringing five-minute delivery to the millions of backyards across the USA.”

Flytrex has been operating in North Carolina since September 2020 and currently has stations in Fayetteville, Raeford and Holly Springs. The company reports that its order volume in the state has increased “more than tenfold” since February 2021 with “thousands of deliveries to date.” Flytrex also announced last month that it raised $40 million in a Series C funding round, which it plans to use “to ramp up expansion throughout the U.S. and advance partnerships with leading retailers and quick-service restaurants (QSRs).”

Kate O'Connor
Kate O’Connor works as AVweb's Editor-in-Chief. She is a private pilot, certificated aircraft dispatcher, and graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

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4 COMMENTS

  1. Details! I’d like DETAILS!

    What are the weight limits?

    HOW does it know where exactly on property to deposit this valuable cargo?

    What happens if it is a congested or densely populated area?

    Can a community prohibit unmanned delivery aircraft?

    How does the company assure there is no danger to people in the area?

    As a helicopter pilot, I worry about these same issues/-but at least I can simply decline.

    Far too often, we have to decline a landing spot due to obstructions, wires, traffic, lack of crowd control, sloped surfaces, etc.

    The general public has no idea on what makes up an acceptable operations site—and what may be acceptable one day may not work with changing winds, approach/departure paths, loads, temps, etc.

    How many times have we heard “You can land right here in my driveway!”🤪

  2. As a helicopter pilot, I want to know where the damn things ARE.
    Rhetorical questions:
    – Do they have sufficient see-and-avoid technology to stay out of my way? (I sure as hell can’t see THEM.)
    – Can ATC reliably report their position to me?
    – Are they ADS-B equipped?
    – In other words, are they following the same airspace rules that I’m required to?
    If not, how, exactly, do these drones differ from flak?
    Your need for a car-delivered pizza doesn’t threaten my life. This does.

  3. Legit concerns, but the reins aren’t likely to be pulled until notable numbers of prescription meds deliveries get dropped down chimneys, and white fast food bags have been delivered into backyard dog runs.

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