Flying carrier!!! Found a solution!

[Arugela]

I think I know how to make it happen. The problem is what would it be good for.

So, start with this:

Then do the obvious:

Then take the next step:

Is this the next step in amazon and pizza hut delivery systems. Flying drone warehouses/flying pizza ovens? Would it save on taxes? what would the shipping cost be. Local, but airbased... Could it work purely on solar power and electric? would it save money, or would it be a hybrid for some reason. Would this be useful in the military for some reason. I assume there might be a limit in range of drones. So, what could this do?

Maybe it's good for food deliveries. If you can keep stuff cool with electric you could deliver stuff down to a fleet or anything else with drones and the mothership could take care of the rest.  It could be the future of all mail/shipping.

I've seen the ad for drone food delivery. So, just add the carrier. It's not like a machine couldn't put a pizza together and send it through a thin pizza oven potentially(Or, god forbid, some super high end frozen pizza.). Maybe for out of the way areas where a local store isn't located. Or for special events. Deliver food up with drones, cook, then deliver. Just imagine front line soldiers ordering their favorite pizza hut pizza's. Just make it a war crime to attack a pizza blimp. 8)

Just have to be careful of the evil pizza the hutt getting out of hand:

Seems the are looking into it. Probably old news:

https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-blimp-delivery-drones-viral-video-is-fake-2019-4

Apparently walmart wants in also. with their new quick return policy could drones drop off and return unwanted packages in record times. It would even just go back up to a blimp for storage until someone else buys it again. Might need some quality controls on that though. Yea, definetly need it to go back to a store for inspections..

https://www.geekwire.com/2017/battle-retail-blimps-amazon-walmart-propose-airship-drone-stations/

If a drone can carry up to say 500 lbs. And a tank shell weights 40 lbs. you could carry up to 12 abrams shells to a tank and reload it... Outside of nasty AA. Could a drone manage this at low altitude with flying supply ships. I assume the military has looked into this. I'm imagining too vulnerable. Although if it could be done it would cut a tone of potentially fuel and add an alternative to logistics. It could even drop in replacement soldiers(call it the stork.). IF not then what about emergency evac drones to replace helicopters. If you can safely drone carry up to an EM blimp you could do surgery on site instead of having to go to a hospital. Or at least get some pre surgery done like in an ambulance.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/you-cant-just-stick-pin-it-other-facts-about-blimp-n453221

Imagine automated supply lines. You defend and they just send it in. I assume to a neutral location for ground drones or fly low to hide the position as to not give away locations. Or any other similar function. I wonder how hard a stealth blimp and drones would be hard to develop to lower detection.

So, yea:

We may have this covered.

Yep, sorry. Old news! ><

Edited September 10, 2023 by Arugela

[Shpaget]

So what solution to what problem have you found?

[SunlitZelkova]

I don’t see it working.

Let’s say someone wants something in San Francisco, but the SF blimp doesn’t have it and the Los Angeles one does. Does the Los Angeles blimp abandon its post and fly north?

Why do that when it would probably be more economical to… use existing warehouses and trucks?

And pizza sales would never pay for the cost of operating a blimp. It too would be uneconomical.

[steve9728]

During the COVID pandemic, many cities in China with mountains that weren't that convenient to deliver the PCR samples were using drones to deliver them from the residential sampling posts to the hospital. Just take the place where I work as an example, when they use drones to do that, they save at least half an hour from delivering it by car.

But this is an extreme scenario - not suitable for pizza or any take-out delivery. The current drone solution for postal deliveries to some of the mountainous settlements is to use a box truck (or van) to take the parcels and follow a pickup truck for the big delivery drone. Someplace the express company and DJI were already set up takeoff points and flight paths at several locations along the route. As you arrive at the point, take the parcels on the drone, make it fly via the route, and wait for it to come back, next point.

I do hope that this tech will soon become more widespread: many little convenience stores at the mountain attractions are too expensive!

Edited September 11, 2023 by steve9728

[Shpaget]

Then there is also Zipline. They do amazing stuff.

https://www.flyzipline.com/

[kerbiloid]

As they need a blimp to deliver a bulldozer, is this a diamond mine to produce several tons per month?

[tater]

 

[Arugela]

Actually, I've seen business comercials advertising drone delivery via app with your location. I think it was drone vs vehicle. But if that is the case there may be some viable commercial option starting up. You would point on the app a mapp location(possibly with some location assist on the phone.)for delivery instead of an adress and it delivers. It seemed like it was for more than recreational city parks. It was advertising more extreme environments like on a mountain. So, I think it was drone delivery. It would specifically order food and pizza.

This may lead to worse problems with people delivery to false locations though. Unless phones/apps have the ability to nullify this issue. I'm sure some pranks will come of it.

It's possible the previous limitations were less hardware and more communications. If so the modern phone abilities might be bridging thins. Or maybe both are being reduced simultaneously.

It could always be vehicle combined with drone also. A car could drive and to within a distance and then drone drop it. This might be more efficient overall and spare having to be in person saving many problems for everyone. Also no property damage. Being able to drive to the middle of a neighborhood and deliver 20 pizza at the same time would also be a godsend to logistics. You could deliver alot more at once without the food getting cold. Outside of the flying in the air adding more time to get cold that is.

This was all a concept in the 50's before we realized nuclear had side effects. Think the jetsons.

Edited September 11, 2023 by Arugela

[Gargamel]

This is a fanciful concept in search of a problem to solve.     Except for locations where it actually does need solved.   
 

As mentioned drone delivery is practically useless, no more than a novelty, where existing infrastructure is far more efficient.  
 

But in areas where the infrastructure is lacking, sometimes drone delivery is a practical solution:

As mentioned above, Zipline:

 

[magnemoe]

13 hours ago, tater said:

 

And that worked as I understand, it was obsolete then WW 2 started as planes had gotten so much better but the idea would work well during WW 1 and the 1920's. 
US working on launching and recovering drones from an C-130 and similar planes.
It makes sense for counter insurgency wars as you can swarm low flying tactical drones over an area you don't have bases in, also support an friend without having bases there.