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In the world of next-generation aviation, two companies have achieved milestones in uncrewed flight.
Wisk Aero completed a major first, with a series of flight tests aimed at evaluating the operational integration of uncrewed aircraft flying beyond visual light of sight (BVLOS) into controlled airspace. These successful flight tests in New Zealand demonstrate that safe uncrewed flight is possible in controlled airspace and among other piloted aircraft.
"The successful completion of this phase of testing demonstrates that it is possible to safely integrate autonomous aircraft into controlled airspace that is shared with piloted aircraft," said Catherine MacGowan, Wisk's Vice President of APAC and Air Operations. "The processes, data, and learnings from these trial flights will help shape the future of Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) and the broader aviation industry."RELATED STORIES:Wisk Aero performs first public air taxi flights in Los Angeles region5 Minutes with Wisk Aero, discussing the autonomous eVTOL
Through a partnership with aviation leaders, the trial program brought about a new understanding of the capability of autonomous flight operations. These trials have offered insight for regulators and global industry members to facilitate further testing and inform future rule-making. The testing was led by Wisk and included the New Zealand Government, Insitu Pacific as the approved Remotely Piloted Aircraft operator, the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand as the regulatory observer and Part 102 approver, Airways New Zealand as the air navigation service provider alongside Airways International's uncrewed traffic management system AirShare, and the indigenous-led aerospace venture Tawhaki provided the flight testing site.
"This series of flights, remotely-piloted by our Insitu Pacific operators, puts into action the significant planning and close collaboration we have undertaken to support Wisk, and their partners the NZ CAA and Airways NZ, in this evolutionary program," Insitu Pacific Managing Director Andrew Duggan said. "The successful demonstration serves as a foundation towards fielding a safe concept of operations for autonomous flight in non-segregated airspace into the future."
This round of testing was part of Wisk's multi-phased testing program under the New Zealand Government's Airspace Integration Trial Program. The recent phase involved multiple flights that took place between Nov. 17 and Dec, 1, demonstrating that a RPA can be operated under instrument flight rules in a controlled airspace and integrated with regular crewed traffic. These flights took place at the Tawhaki National Aerospace Center at Kaitorete and involved takeoffs, landings and uncontrolled and controlled airspace navigation.
"We're proud to support world-leading innovation to take flight from our Tawhaki National Aerospace Centre at Kaitorete," Tawhaki CEO Linda Falwasser said. " It's great to be working in partnership as part of the Airspace Integration Trials Programme to chart a path for an adaptive, exciting, sustainable future for aerospace transport."
The New Zealand Government AITP was announced in 2019 and is a four-year program to ensure airspace systems maintain high levels of safety while balancing aviation advancements, community expectations and realizing economic benefits. Wisk was the first industry partner in the program and has since undertaken numerous phases of testing since becoming the first to sign an MOU with the New Zealand government in 2020.RELATED STORY:FAA approves Reliable Robotics advanced navigation and autoflight system for Cessna Caravan
Across the world, Reliable Robotics achieved a successful flight of an uncrewed Cessna 208B Caravan in California, as an aviation first. A remote pilot supervised the aircraft from a Reliable control center 50 miles away. The Reliable autonomous flight system allows the aircraft to be remotely operated by a pilot on the ground, improving safety by fully automating the aircraft throughout all phases of operation, including taxi, takeoff and landing. The system is aircraft agnostic, relying on multiple layers of redundancy and navigation technology to achieve the levels of reliability and integrity required for uncrewed flight. The Reliable system will prevent controlled flight into terrain and loss of control inflight, which account for the majority of deadly aviation crashes.
Reliable Robotics collaborated with Textron Aviation, the designer and manufacturer of the Cessna Caravan. Textron has delivered over 3,000 Caravans, which is proving to be the world's most popular turboprop utility aircraft. The Caravan serves an important role in many communities and businesses across the world. The aircraft has a useful load of over 3,000 pounds and a takeoff performance that allows it to operate from shorter runways. The Cessna Caravan can deliver time-sensitive shipments to many places that would otherwise not have next-day or same-day services. The use of remote piloting will allow even more areas to have access to critical services.
"Textron Aviation is committed to delivering continuous aviation improvements and our relationship with Reliable Robotics advances this work," said Chris Hearne, the senior VP of engineering and programs at Textron Aviation. "Reliable's successful flight of an uncrewed Cessna 208 Caravan represents a milestone for the industry in bringing new technology to aviation."
ASL Aviation Holdings, a global aviation services company, has worked with Reliable since 2022. ASL has airlines based in Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia and is exploring bringing advanced aircraft automation into its operations. The company operates a fleet of over 160 aircraft and provides cargo services to some of the top express parcel integrators and eCommerce platforms in the world. Reliable Robotics is an original member of ASL's CargoVision forum of companies involved in pioneering new aviation and propulsion technologies.
"ASL is always innovating to better serve customers, and our partnership with Reliable Robotics is aimed at enabling us to provide reliable, flexible and cost-efficient time-sensitive cargo delivery to smaller unserved areas," ASL Aviation Holdings Chief Executive Dave Andrew said. "This historic flight is a testament to Reliable's focused leadership in advancing aviation innovation and capability for the industry."
Reliable Robotics has also been working with the U.S. Air Force to use the significant progress made on remote piloting for the Cessna Caravan to concurrently examine how this commercially derived technology can be used for large, multi-engine aircraft for missions like cargo logistics and aerial refueling. Reliable has been working under a series of contracts with the USAF since 2021.
"This monumental aviation achievement is a great example of how AFWERX accelerates agile and affordable capability transitions for the world's greatest Air Force," said Col. Elliot Leigh, AFWERX director and CCO for the Department of the Air Force. "This milestone accelerates dual-use uncrewed flight opportunities, increasing aviation safety and enabling us to bring a broad range of autonomous military capabilities into denied environments."
The FAA formally accepted the certification plans for Reliable's autonomous flight system in June. The plan utilizes existing regulations for normal and transport-category aircraft and does not require special conditions or exemptions. With numerous industry-first technical accomplishments and unrivaled certification progress with the FAA, Reliable Robotics is set to deliver safety-enhancing aircraft automation systems to the airspace.
As the world prepares for the integration of next-gen aircraft like eVTOL and flying cars, these two companies have progressed with a growing field of uncrewed and remotely piloted operations.