Wing Plans Walmart Drone Delivery at Third Cincinnati-Area Store
Wing, a U.S. drone delivery company, presented a plan to Union Township, Ohio, to run deliveries from the Eastgate Walmart. Flights could begin in the new year, but no drone delivery is operating in the Cincinnati area yet.
Wing, the drone delivery company partnered with retailer Walmart, presented a plan on November 10 to officials in Union Township, Ohio, for a drone delivery site at the Eastgate Walmart. Zenobia Haynes, Wing's permit manager, gave the presentation. Local broadcaster WKRC reported that flights could start as soon as the new year. No such flights are operating in the Cincinnati metro area yet.
Eastgate is the third Cincinnati-area Walmart to emerge in connection with drones since Wing and Walmart named the metro as a market on January 11. Walmart approached Fort Wright, Kentucky, in March and filed for a drone nest in Hamilton, Ohio, in May. Wing's map still lists Cincinnati as "Coming soon."
What Wing describes for the flights
According to WKRC, township trustee Joe Dills said Wing described flights at about 150 feet (46 meters). Delivery noise was given as under 70 decibels. The service area is a six-mile (9.7-kilometer) radius, speed is up to 55 mph (89 km/h), and the load is about 2.5 pounds (1.1 kilograms).
Dills, who chairs the board, said he supports the service but does not want the sky filled with delivery drones. On any complaints, he said they should be handled in partnership with the township.
Approval not yet on the agenda
Wing needs township approval for its nest, the takeoff and landing area near the store. WKRC reported that this is expected to be a formality. None of the township agendas posted so far includes a vote on it. The trustees' next regular meeting is December 8. Once drones are airborne, only the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration regulates them.
A local approval has not meant flights this year. Hamilton's council approved a zoning change in July, yet Wing's map still shows no service in the area. Fort Wright's council passed a moratorium on April 15, and in Kirkwood, Missouri, the city council on October 15 let a proposed Wing nest die without a motion.
