Colin Aitchison, director and chief pilot of Skyworks, says a resident cut off by a washed-out bridge in Marlborough had groceries flown in by drone after seeing a video of the same aircraft lifting deer carcasses from a nearby valley.

He says the request came from a member of the public.

“She just gave me a phone call and wondered if we could do the same for her and lift some groceries in,” he says.

He says the DJI FlyCart 30 used in the job lifts up to 40kg and flies about 8km in 10 minutes, and newer machines already lift far more.

“There are drones out there in the world that can lift up to 600 kilogrammes,” he says.

Aitchison says the technology is improving exponentially.

“The development curve’s near vertical.”

He references an event in China, where a 200kg-capacity model plucked people from flood waters.

CountryWide CONNECT with Andy Thompson & Sarah Perriam-Lampp is our daily rural show livestreamed from 11am-1pm. Visit country-wide.co.nz on how to watch/listen or download the CountryWide CONNECT mobile app, available on Apple iOS and Android.