Beer,
Drones and the FAA
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Beer
sent by drone? … Not so fast, says FAA.
Minnesota
[Option tested for
ice fishing, remote areas now on hold.]
A Minnesota beermaker wants drones to help anglers
remotely replenish their stocks of beer, but the government is saying no.
For now.
The Federal Aviation Administration informed Lakemaid
Beer that it currently prohibits small businesses from using drones shortly
after the beermaker posted video of a test run on Lake Waconia last week.
Inspired by Amazon, Lakemaid had been testing drone
delivery system for 12-packs of beer on ice-fishing lakes in Minnesota and
Wisconsin, where the beer is produced, Lakemaid president Jack Supple said in a
news release.
Another test was set for Lake Mille Lacs and the Twin
Pines resort before the FAA stepped in. The beermaker’s video went viral and
now has more than 100,000 views.
Amazon grabbed the country’s attention late last year
after announcing it was exploring ways to deliver packages with drones. It
wants to deliver some packages within minutes of the orders being placed.
But Amazon faces the same FAA restrictions as Lakemaid –
though the beermaker will be navigating wide-open spaces and wilderness rather
than dense urban areas.
“We’d be happy to share our research with Amazon,” Supple
said.
The FAA is expected to
release new drone restrictions by 2015, but Lakemaid would also have to
implement a system to remotely verify age.
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* Saint Paul Pioneer Press, 2/2/2014
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