Is the sky the limit for drones, or are self-flying deliveries on a wing and a prayer?

Drones could be poised to revolutionise delivery services to and from Orkney’s outer isles, as a nine-week trial exploring the use of self-flying cargo aircraft has been deemed a success.

For the last nine weeks, a scheduled service using a twin-engine, fixed-wing aircraft with a ten-metre wingspan has taken place between Eday, Westray and North Ronaldsay.

The aircraft has delivered logistics, water samples, shellfish, and sea produce, as well as locally produced goods during the trial.

Windracers is the drone company behind the low-cost self-flying cargo aircraft, the ULTRA, which has been operating the service.

The ULTRA has a significant cargo capacity of 700L, a payload capacity of up to 100kg and a range of up to 600 kilometres.

This means that it is well-suited to provide deliveries to remote communities with minimal infrastructure — something which has been reinforced by its recent success flying between the three North Isles.

The flight schedule has been integrated with the existing logistics network provided by Streamline Shipping Group to see what might be a reality.

According to Will Rodger, the service manager at Streamline Shipping Group, the use of drones could transform delivery routes to island communities, offering a faster, more convenient and more reliable delivery service to residents and businesses.

A previous drone trial was carried out over a shorter period, but this trial has seen weeks of continuous flying that has brought the technology significantly closer to commercial application.

“This nine-week continuous trial is an important step in making self-flying cargo aircraft a reality and giving people in remote locations access to the things they need, when they need them,” said Simon Muderack, CEO at Windracers.