“We’ve always been attracted to things with wings. Like birds, planes and angels,” said Susie Sensmeier, whose son is also an aerospace engineer. “It just fascinated us.”

The Sensmeiers recalled attending a demonstration that was hosted some years ago to showcase the groundbreaking service.

“We were one of the few people who showed up who were not running for local office,” Susie Sensmeier, 84, said with a laugh.

The couple has since fully adopted the concept, to the point that their use of the aircraft set a milestone.

With more than 1,200 orders delivered to their home over a period of roughly four years, representatives for company Wing say the couple has set a world record for most orders brought to them by a commercial drone.

Wing is a subsidiary of Google’s parent company Alphabet Inc. The company in 2019 launched a local drone delivery service that covers certain sections of Christiansburg and has received much publicity for its innovation.

The company, which also keeps a facility in the town’s retail corridor, made Christiansburg the first trial site of its kind in the country. The Wing service has since partnered with a number of area businesses to deliver goods by air to local residents.

The Sensmeiers were among the first commercial drone delivery customers in the U.S.

When asked about some of the advantages with drones, Paul Sensmeier gave an almost obvious response: Convenience.

A recent announcement about the couple’s milestone pointed out that Susie Sensmeier has vision issues and no longer drives. While her husband does drive, he said the delivery of items he otherwise would have had to pick up himself in a car removes a hassle.

Paul Sensmeier, 83, encourages others who have access to the service to give it a try.

The type of operation Wing is running in Christiansburg is still in its infancy stage, when taking into account the greater development and use of commercial drones. But Susie Sensmeiers said it’s a sign of things to come on, and on a greater scale.

“It’s going to come. They might as well get used to it,” she said, echoing her husband’s encouragement of others to use the service.

Susie Sensmeier further quipped: “It’s fun. Not so many fun things happen to people our age.”

Despite the milestone they set, the Sensmeiers haven’t used the service most recently as they just moved to an assisted living facility in Blacksburg.

“We miss it, we loved it and we are so glad we were a part of it,” Susie Sensmeier said.