The North Carolina Department of Transportation’s (NCDOT) Division of Aviation, in partnership with the NCDOT Ferry Division and drone logistics company Volansi, recently completed two successful test flights of a delivery drone from Hatteras to Ocracoke Island in the Outer Banks.
Ocracoke Island is isolated, making it difficult to transport vital supplies onto the island, especially after hurricanes.
A drone took off from the Hatteras Village ferry dock and landed on the South Dock on the north end of Ocracoke Island, an eight-mile round trip flight averaging 18 minutes.
The Volansi C-10 Gemini can carry a payload of up to five pounds. To simulate an emergency delivery, the first test flight carried a survival kit, space blankets, and a chocolate muffin, while the second test flight carried water bottles.
“This is a tremendous first step in better connecting Ocracoke Island to potentially life-saving supplies and equipment,” Eric Boyette, Secretary of Transportation, said. “Today, Ocracoke Island is accessible only by plane or by boat. What we’re working on here is an entirely new, third method of serving the needs of Ocracoke’s people.”
NCDOT hopes to one day make deliveries from the mainland.
A third, unscheduled test flight will fly a drone from Hatteras to the Village of Ocracoke.