Drones, those amazing flying machines, have really taken off so to speak and the Orange possibilities are endless. Butter, bread and milk from the supermarket, meals, a six-pack or books from the library all delivered by air.
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Drones are being used for a variety of jobs, more so now with people staying home because of coronavirus.
One was used last week to trial spraying sanitiser on seats, walkways and handrails at Bankwest Stadium while they're also being used by police, Sydney lifesavers and for shark surveillance, national park management, search and rescue, controlling weeds and pest animals.
And Wing, a subsidiary of Google's parent company Alphabet, is going gangbusters in Canberra with household deliveries up more than 500 per cent.
Some of the most popular items delivered by Wing's drones are coffee, fresh bread, milk, eggs, hot roast chickens and sushi, hardware, pharmacy needs and pet supplies.
Once a Wing drone arrives, it hovers seven metres above the ground, lowers the package by a tether and after releasing it in the nominated front or back yard returns to Wing's base.
The drones can carry packages of around 1.5kg, can reach speeds up to 113km/h and their fastest delivery time so far has been 2mins 47 seconds.
Drones are used here mainly for photography but online retailer Amazon wants to get in on the act in cities like Orange while Australia Post is looking and Tooheys is talking about drones saying it would be sweet if beer deliveries were added to the testing roster.
Laura Sanford from Wing told Stop Press the company was focused on growing the drone delivery service in Canberra but hoped to bring the fast, affordable, and environmentally friendly air delivery to more communities soon.
But not all Canberra people are happy with one resident saying it was like 'living under a demented whipper-snipper flying over your head...'
Another told a Canberra government enquiry that 'distressed mothers, frightened children, frustrated families were aggravated by the invasion of drones, the noise and the loss of peacefulness.'
Drones will eventually become part of our lives in Orange but don't hold your breath just yet.
PUSH TO BUY AUSSIE MADE
The push to buy Australian Made will need lots of luck with most consumers preferring the cheaper product with our stores filled almost entirely with imported stuff.
The Orange Electrolux plant received unbelievable benefits to pack up and move to Thailand, axing a successful Orange icon and putting 544 people out of work.
That mattered little to the Swedish Electrolux mob sitting in their boardroom in Stockholm.
Their main attraction was a Thai labour rate of $2.50 an hour and that could never be matched here unless people wanted to work for nothing.
Ford in its move to Thailand said it was paying workers $6 an hour, three times more than the average Thai wage. So, Australian Made?
ALLERGIC TO HOUSE WORK
A man tells his doctor he's unable to do everything around the house he used to. When the examination is over, he says: "OK doctor. In plain English what's wrong with me?"
"Well, in plain English," says the doctor, "you're just lazy."
The man nods: "Well can you give me the medical term for that so I can tell my wife."
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