What now for Tulsa drone king? Bobby Healy on leaving Ireland and scaling Manna in Oklahoma | Can It Scale?

Manna moves to Tulsa after Ireland stalls drone rules

Manna moved its drone delivery operation from Dublin to Tulsa because Ireland never wrote the rules that let it open new bases. Two years went into waiting on U-space regulation, while Tulsa offered political backing and federal rulemaking under Part 108. Manna was flying commercially five weeks after Healy arrived. His bet is that the aircraft is table stakes and the prize is replacing road logistics.

Takeaways

• Ireland's regulatory vacuum pushed Manna to America. Ireland never wrote U-space rules, and Healy says the IAA and AirNav Ireland have no mandate or budget for them. Manna lost two years unable to open new bases, including at its own Glasnevin headquarters.
• Tulsa delivered commercial flights in five weeks. Healy arrived on July 3 and was flying commercially five weeks later. Manna has 10 bases there now and plans 25 to 30, with backing from Oklahoma's governor, Tulsa's mayor and two US senators.
• Manna's aircraft economics beat road delivery. Each aircraft does eight deliveries an hour with 30-second turnarounds, four times better than the next best operator. A Manna worker handles 15 to 20 deliveries an hour against two for a car driver.
• Rivals spent billions for less progress. Amazon has spent over $6bn on drone delivery and Google about $4bn. Zipline has raised $2.8bn, including a $1bn round at a $20bn valuation, while Manna has raised $100m and Healy criticises Zipline's economics.
• Healy bet on logistics rather than the aircraft. At 49 he chose drone delivery as his next decade, arguing the aircraft is table stakes and the prize is replacing how society moves goods by car and road. He says delivery drivers fund the work with their own cars and diesel.
• Ireland keeps Manna's engineering while jobs were derailed. Manna remains Irish headquartered and will intensify R&D there, building more aircraft and designs. The 400 jobs promised in its Series B were derailed by the failure to grow in Ireland, and Healy says stock options need fixing.

From cherry picker to winch

1. Healy tested drops from a 180-foot cherry picker and was afraid to go all the way up.
2. Early tests used paper parachutes and McDonald's orders.
3. Everything explodes at terminal velocity and nothing survives a drop.
4. The conclusion was that a winch was needed instead of a parachute.

Manna's next steps

• FAA Part 108 federalised drone rulemaking into a single US rule.
• The Mark II aircraft starts flying in January after FCC approval.