Dundee takeaway to deliver food by drone?
A SCOTS takeaway say they're set to pilot a new delivery scheme - airdropping Chinese food in to customer's gardens by DRONE.
Steve Chow, owner of the Chinatown takeaway in Dundee's Hilltown area, says he plans to serve up flying food to loyal customers by the end of this month.
Mr Chow - whose shop is famed in the city for its massive Chinese munchie box meals - plans to use his past work experience as a Cathay Pacific airline engineer to launch the innovative delivery method, which he believes will be a first in Scotland.
He says the service will be available to regular customers who will be issued their own landing pad to be set out in their gardens.
A pilot employed at the shop will then guide deliveries of up to ten kilos - equivalent to three of their munchie boxes - within an eight mile radius of the shop.
The business have invested in a £4500 drone - named the Chinatown Pioneer - to take the company to the skies.
Steve said his idea was inspired by global retail giants Amazon, who use drones to deliver parcels in the US.
He said: "We obviously have certain restrictions in place and will only be making this unique experience available to regular customers who use our services two or three times a week.
"The customer will need to be issued with a landing pad and obviously have a back garden to allow the Chinatown pioneer to land.
"Customers will also need to be in an eight mile radius of the shop.
"The drone can carry up to ten kilos, which we reckon will be equivalent of delivering up to three munchie boxes.
"These will obviously be packaged differently for the flight."
He added: "Drones are used by the military - so why can't we take this innovative step?
"We are looking to launch the maiden flight in April and we will have a pilot navigating the deliveries from the shop via a joystick and computer screen to make sure the deliveries arrive safely.
"The weather will also play a part in how the drone can deliver meals but the pilot is very skilled and has clocked up a lot of experience flying these drones.
"We do over 100 deliveries at the weekend and we think this is a great way to offer our customers a new experience.
"There are currently no laws in place restricting us from providing this as a delivery option and we will make sure the delivery is secure before it takes off.
"We think it is also a great way to market our business in the sky."
But a spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority told Tay News "Under the current rules a drone cannot be flown beyond the 'visual line of sight' of the operator, making any kind of delivery very difficult, if not impossible. "