# Wing Aviation > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Wing_Aviation > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Wing_Aviation.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wing_Aviation > Source revision: 1351239851 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Alphabet subsidiary for drone delivery systems}} {{Infobox company | name = Wing Aviation LLC | trade_name = Wing | logo = Wing logo.svg | type = Subsidiary | industry = {{Flatlist| * Aviation * logistics }} | founded = {{Ubl | {{Start date and age|2012}} (as a project of X Development) | {{Start date and age|July 2018}} (as Wing) }} | hq_location = [Mountain View, California](/source/Mountain_View%2C_California), U.S. | num_locations = 5 | area_served = {{Ubl | United States | Australia | [Finland](/source/Finland) | Ireland }} | key_people = Adam Woodworth (CEO) | services = [Drone delivery](/source/Drone_delivery) | parent = [Alphabet Inc.](/source/Alphabet_Inc.) | website = {{url|https://wing.com}} }} '''Wing Aviation LLC''', [doing business as](/source/doing_business_as) '''Wing''', is a subsidiary of [Alphabet Inc.](/source/Alphabet_Inc.) that develops a [drone delivery](/source/Delivery_drone) system and [UTM systems](/source/Unmanned_aircraft_system_traffic_management). The company completed its first deliveries in 2014.{{Cite web|url=https://x.company/projects/wing/|title=Wing|last=|first=|date=|website=Google X|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=April 15, 2019}} The company has operations in [Australia](/source/Australia), the [United States](/source/United_States), [Finland](/source/Finland), and [Ireland](/source/Ireland), with potential expansion to the [United Kingdom](/source/United_Kingdom) planned.{{Cite web|title=Helsinki - Finland|url=https://wing.com/finland/helsinki/|access-date=2020-06-28|website=Wing|language=en}}{{Cite web|title=Canberra – Australia|url=https://wing.com/australia/canberra/|access-date=2020-06-28|website=Wing|language=en}}{{Cite web|title=Virginia – United States|url=https://wing.com/united-states/virginia/|access-date=2020-06-28|website=Wing|language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2022-11-16 |title=Alphabet drone firm lifts off in Dublin |url=https://www.independent.ie/business/technology/alphabet-drone-firm-lifts-off-in-dublin/42150041.html |access-date=2023-10-27 |website=Independent.ie |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Wing Blog: Wing and Apian partner to create medical drone delivery service in Ireland and explore opportunities in the UK |url=https://blog.wing.com/2023/08/wing-apian-partnership.html |access-date=2023-10-27 |website=Wing Blog |archive-date=2023-10-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231027152011/https://blog.wing.com/2023/08/wing-apian-partnership.html |url-status=dead }} In July 2018, Project Wing graduated from [X Development (formally Google X)](/source/X_Development) to become an independent Alphabet company.{{Cite news|url=https://www.inc.com/thomas-koulopoulos/the-moonshot-to-create-next-google.html|title=The Moonshot to Create the Next Google|last=Koulopoulos|first=Thomas|date=July 2018|work=[Inc.](/source/Inc._(magazine))|access-date=July 13, 2018}} As of January 2019, Wing began delivering take-out food and beverages out of its test facility in [Bonython](/source/Bonython%2C_Australian_Capital_Territory), Australia, as part of a pilot program.{{Cite news|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prhDrfUgpB0|title=Google Drones Can Already Deliver You Coffee In Australia|date=8 January 2018|work=[The Wall Street Journal](/source/The_Wall_Street_Journal)|access-date=13 January 2018|via=YouTube}} In April 2019 Wing became the first drone delivery company to receive an [air operator's certificate](/source/air_operator's_certificate) from the [Federal Aviation Administration](/source/Federal_Aviation_Administration) to allow it to operate as an airline in the US.{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2019/04/23/716360818/faa-certifies-googles-wing-drone-delivery-company-to-operate-as-an-airline|title=FAA Certifies Google's Wing Drone Delivery Company To Operate As An Airline|website=NPR.org|date=23 April 2019 |accessdate=24 April 2019 |last1=Chappell |first1=Bill }} In the first quarter of 2022, the service made more than 50,000 deliveries.{{Cite news |date=2022-04-27 |title=Alphabet's drone delivery division Wing flies high with 50k deliveries in Q1 |language=en-US |work=The Stack |url=https://thestack.technology/wing-drone-delivery-50k-deliveries/?amp=1 |access-date=2022-06-14}} ==Drone specification== {{more citations needed|section|date=April 2019}} [[File:Wing delivery Vuosaari 3.jpg|thumb|Wing's aircraft delivering goods in [Vuosaari](/source/Vuosaari), Helsinki]] In the six years to 2018, Wing developed its aircraft to meet compliance standards and effectively deliver parcels through the air. The drones are specifically designed for small parcel delivery. Each aircraft has horizontally-oriented propellers like a classic [multirotor](/source/multirotor) drone, along with a [fixed-wing](/source/Fixed-wing_aircraft) to help it cover long distances quickly The aircraft takes off vertically and then enters a forward-flight phase. Its motors are powered by electric batteries.{{Cite AV media|publisher=[Slush](/source/Slush_(event))|title=Launch: Transforming Delivery by Wing CEO James Ryan Burgess|type=Video with introduction and transcript|via=YouTube|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jw1y7cGsJqg&t=667s|date=7 December 2018}} For safety purposes, the aircraft features many redundant systems (extra propellers, batteries, etc.) so that if anything were to malfunction, flight can continue until a mechanic can address the issue. The [flight path](/source/Airway_(aviation)) the aircraft follows is determined by Wing's UTM (Unmanned Traffic Management) System, which optimizes the route for time and distance efficiency while ensuring the plane's path will be obstacle-free. To assist in navigating unforeseen obstacles, the aircraft is equipped with black and white cameras that detect and analyze shapes without observing distinct features in order to preserve community privacy while maintaining safe flight. The company says that image data is not preserved, and is only used for ‘technical analysis’.{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-23/alphabet-s-drone-delivery-business-cleared-for-takeoff-by-faa|title=Google Spinoff's Drone Delivery Business First to Get FAA Approval|newspaper=Bloomberg |date=22 April 2019|publisher=|accessdate=24 April 2019|via=www.bloomberg.com}}{{R|BBCApprovedUS}} In 2022, the company introduced concepts for new models that could carry larger and smaller payloads.{{Cite web |title=Wing Blog: Wing's Aircraft Library |url=https://blog.wing.com/2022/07/wings-aircraft-library.html |access-date=2022-12-27 |website=Wing Blog |archive-date=2022-12-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221227203627/https://blog.wing.com/2022/07/wings-aircraft-library.html |url-status=dead }} ==Objections and opposition== Wing's public operations have faced noise complaints.{{R|GizmodoChainsaw}}{{R|APIncessentBuzzing}} Residents in the rural southeastern region of Australia where Wing operates have complained about the disruption to their lives. A local dog club president said that the noise from the delivery drone trials spooked dogs when nearby.{{R|GizmodoChainsaw}} Some customers opted out of the trial citing this disruption.{{R|GizmodoChainsaw}} One ecologist states they worry these "drones are taking to the air without a lot of thought for the ears of people on the ground."{{R|BBCApprovedUS}} In November 2019, the Australian Federal government found Wing's [Canberra](/source/Canberra) operation exceeded the residential noise standard.{{R|ABCNoiseLimits}} Wing developed a quieter [propeller](/source/Propeller_(aeronautics)) and promised other measures to address this issue.{{R|ABCNoiseLimits}} In an experiment in [Bonython](/source/Bonython%2C_ACT), a suburb of Canberra, drones suddenly appeared, surprising and annoying residents. There were complaints about the drones' impact on the community, local wildlife and the environment. There were unplanned landings, dropped payloads, drones flying close to vehicle traffic, and birds attacking and forcing down some drones. Residents joined together, using [Facebook](/source/Facebook) and a [Web site](/source/Web_site), produced newsletters, lobbied federal and local MPs, informed local, national and international [news media](/source/news_media), and made many [freedom of information requests](/source/Freedom_of_information_laws_by_country) to local authorities.{{Cite journal |title=Resisting technological inevitability: Google Wing's delivery drones and the fight for our skies |last1=Zenz |first1=Anna |last2=Powles |first2=Julia |journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A |date=2024 |volume=382 |issue=2285 |doi=10.1098/rsta.2024.0107|pmid=39533913 |pmc=11558236 |bibcode=2024RSPTA.38240107Z |ssrn=4866385 }} In press; date written 22 June 2024{{cite news| last=Naughton | first=John | title=Don't trust the inevitability myth touted by the tech determinists |newspaper=The Observer| date=10 August 2024 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/aug/10/inevitability-myth-tech-determinists-google-wing-delivery-drone}} In response to complaints a parliamentary inquiry into drone delivery systems was set up, with remit including examination of the decision to permit the trials, the economic impact of the technology, what regulatory oversight there was of the technology at various levels of government, and possible environmental impact of drone deliveries. In August 2023 Wing terminated operations in the Canberra area with little fanfare, because it had "shifted [its] operating model". == References == {{cite web|url=https://venturebeat.com/2018/12/27/alphabet-spinout-wings-drones-are-too-noisy-customers-say/|title=Customers compare the noise from Alphabet spinout Wing's delivery drones to a chainsaw|first=Kyle|last=Wiggers|website=Gizmodo|date=27 December 2018 |accessdate=25 October 2020}} {{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-48029396|title=Google drones approved for US home deliveries|work=BBC News |date=23 April 2019|publisher=|accessdate=24 April 2019}} {{cite web|url=https://theconversation.com/drones-to-deliver-incessant-buzzing-noise-and-packages-116257|title=Drones to deliver incessant buzzing noise, and packages|first=Garth|last=Paine|website=The Conversation|date=3 May 2019}} {{cite news|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-09-12/canberra-delivery-drone-noise-levels-revealed/11503262|title=Google-affiliated drone delivery service found to be exceeding noise limits|first=Jackson|last=Gothe-Snape|newspaper=ABC News|date=11 September 2019 |accessdate=25 October 2020}} == External links == {{Commons cat|Wing Aviation}} * {{Official website|https://wing.com/}} {{Alphabet Inc.}} Category:X Development Category:Alphabet Inc. Category:Alphabet Inc. subsidiaries Category:Unmanned aerial vehicle manufacturers Category:Technology companies established in 2002 Category:Aerial logistics companies Category:Unmanned aerial vehicle manufacturers of the United States --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Wing Aviation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wing_Aviation) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wing_Aviation?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.