Rapper Cardi B’s latest album is quite literally flying off the shelves.
According to Walmart drone delivery partner Wing, a subsidiary of Google parent Alphabet, the Grammy-winning artist on Friday became a Guinness World Record holder.
Cardi B teamed up with Walmart and Wing for a literal album drop, delivering her latest record Am I the Drama? to fans across the Dallas-Fort Worth area from above. Wing said its drones delivered 176 CDs within one hour—a new high-water mark. The small, uncrewed aircraft were deployed from 15 sites across the city.
Wing and Walmart have partnered on drone delivery in the Dallas-Fort Worth area since 2023. The highly automated service operates directly from the parking lots and rooftops of Walmart Supercenters.
Store associates drop orders at Wing’s curbside Autoloader, which attaches it to the drone’s tether. From there, the aircraft takes off vertically to about 150 feet and cruises at roughly 65 mph to the customer’s address, relying on separate motors for the two phases. It can carry up to 5 pounds and cover about 12 miles round trip.
In the air, tasks such as flight planning and traffic management are fully automated, with remote supervisors overseeing multiple drones. At its destination, the aircraft automatically detects and avoids obstacles on the ground. It then descends and hovers at a height of about 23 feet, lowering the order on a tether.
With Wing and another drone partner, Zipline, Walmart covers an estimated 1.8 million households in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. In June, the partners announced a three-state expansion, adding drone delivery to 100 Walmart stores across Atlanta, Houston, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Orlando and Tampa, Florida.
The FAA places operational restrictions on drone delivery, such as a 400-foot ceiling and limitations on beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) flight. But the only limit on delivery cadence is the operator’s technology.
According to Walmart and Wing, the partners complete thousands of weekly deliveries in under 20 minutes on average. And with help from a superstar musician, they are continuing to push the envelope.
The nation’s most expansive drone delivery service could grow even more robust with the FAA’s proposed Part 108 rule, which would create new standards and operating certificates for BVLOS operations. Part 108 holders would be able to circumvent the requirement for direct human oversight of operations, allowing them to fly longer routes and reach more customers.
The comment period for the proposed rule closes on October 6, after which the FAA will consider any modifications.
Like this story? We think you’ll also like the Future of FLYING newsletter sent every Thursday afternoon. Sign up now.
