2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

Hanneke Weitering

<p>News and developments about airplanes, helicopters and unmanned air vehicles used in all varieties of operations, including airlines, military, business, commercial, general aviation and private.</p>


<p>New developments and products in avionics, specifically about aircraft electronics in the cockpit.</p>


<p>News about simulators and training procedures, as well as workforce.</p>


Aircraft avionics and training systems are evolving with artificial intelligence

AI Elicits a New Generation of Avionics and Pilot Training Tools

<p>News and issues relating to civil and military unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) of all kinds and sizes, including those used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), combat (unmanned combat air vehicles, or UCAVs), law enforcement, research and other applications. Of particular focus is the FAA's planned integration of UAS into the U.S. national airspace system.</p>


Joby and Reliable Robotics participate in “Agile Flag 24-3” logistics exercise

U.S. Air Force Trials Autonomous Flights with Joby, Reliable Robotics

Joby’s eVTOL air taxis could fly without pilots someday

Joby Aviation Acquires Autonomous Flight Pioneer Xwing

<p>Autonomous flight pioneers Daedalean and Xwing are teaming up to advance the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in aviation. The partners have agreed to share their data, knowledge, and processes pertaining to AI and machine learning, which both companies are using to develop software for fully autonomous flights using retrofitted airplanes.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Because no machine learning-based systems have ever been certified for use in civil aviation, Daedalean and <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2023-04-13/xwing-begins-faa-certification-process-superpilot-autonomous-flight-system">Xwing</a> have been working closely with the FAA and the EASA to develop certification standards for the new technology. As partners, the two companies aim to form a consensus on design assurance processes, with the goal of streamlining the process of developing those standards.&nbsp;</p>
<p>“In this emerging industry, it’s as crucial to collaborate with fellow pioneers as it is to partner with regulators around the world,” said Daedalean co-founder and CEO Luuk van Dijk. “With this shared undertaking, we will be able to demonstrate that increasing safety is driving innovation and that a collaborative approach to harmonize regulations and standards ensures that best practices are universally adopted.”</p>
<p>Daedalean, which has headquarters in Switzerland, is developing a fully autonomous, vehicle-agnostic flight control system that could someday enable pilotless flights on a variety of airplanes and rotorcraft. The first implementation of Daedalean’s technology will be a pilot aid tool called <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2021-07-27/avidyne-teams-daedalean-offer-ai-based-pilot-eye-vision-system">PilotEye</a>, which provides complete situational awareness using cameras, sensors, and AI-powered software. It is developing the PilotEye in collaboration with Florida-based avionics specialist Avidyne. Daedalean has also been working with autonomous flight systems developer <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2021-03-23/reliable-robotics-steps-remote-piloting-plan-new-partner-daedalean">Reliable Robotics</a> to implement the technology for remotely piloted and single-pilot operations.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Meanwhile, California-based Xwing is developing a similar type of autonomous flight control system that it intends to offer for various legacy airplane models, starting with the Cessna 208B Grand Caravan. Xwing is already flying its autonomous Caravan with safety pilots on board under an experimental airworthiness certificate, and the company achieved its <a href="https://futureflight.aero/news-article/2021-04-15/xwing-achieves-autonomous-gate-gate-operations-test-flight">first fully autonomous gate-to-gate mission</a>—including taxi, takeoff, and landing—in April 2021.&nbsp;</p>
<p>“At Xwing, we balance our commitment to a strong safety culture with our push for technical innovation,“ said Maxime Gariel, Xwing’s president and chief technology officer. “Our collaboration with Daedalean underscores this philosophy and the importance we place on sharing data, knowledge, and processes to inform a credible path forward toward certification for the industry as a whole as we work closely with regulators.”</p>


Science & Technology Editor

Autonomous Flight Pioneers Xwing and Daedalean Partner on Artificial Intelligence

<p>As part of its effort&nbsp;to accelerate innovation in the aerospace industry, the U.S. Air Force will work with autonomous flight pioneer Xwing to help introduce self-flying airplanes into its defense fleet. The California-based tech start-up announced on Thursday that it has received a Direct to Phase 2 small business innovation research (SBIR) contract from the USAF’s Afwerx Prime program to study potential defense applications for remotely piloted aircraft.</p>
<p>Xwing is working <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2023-04-13/xwing-begins-faa-certification-process-superpilot-autonomous-flight-system">to certify its “Superpilot”</a> autonomous flight control system, which will enable remotely piloted flight operations using legacy aircraft converted under supplemental type certificates. So far, the company has installed and tested its Superpilot only on a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan, but just about any aircraft could be retrofitted with the Superpilot, which is designed to be vehicle-agnostic.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The company has been regularly conducting flight trials of its experimental Cessna for a few years, with a remote pilot fully operating each flight from a ground control station and an on-board safety pilot monitoring from the cockpit. Now Xwing is kicking off a 21-month flight test campaign with the USAF to collect feedback from defense officials and optimize the Superpilot for possible military uses.&nbsp;</p>
<p>According to Xwing, the USAF is interested in flying large, remotely piloted aircraft for applications like autonomous cargo deliveries and medevac missions. Part of Xwing’s work under this new contract will be to define the specific use cases for autonomous airplanes within the broader Department of Defense, Xwing founder and CEO Marc Piette told <strong>FutureFlight</strong>.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Piette explained that the benefits autonomous aviation brings to the commercial sector will also apply to the defense sector, though he declined to speculate on what sort of applications the USAF might decide to pursue. “Obviously, being able to fly vehicles without pilots on board is useful, especially if it's in a hostile environment,” he said. “You don't have to put pilots in harm's way.”</p>
<p>Xwing is among a handful of tech start-ups developing autonomous flight technologies to help alleviate the commercial pilot shortage. Whereas the FAA currently requires all commercial airplanes to have two pilots, self-flying airplanes could someday allow a single ground operator to remotely pilot multiple flights simultaneously with no crew on board—or at least with a reduced crew size.&nbsp;</p>
<p>According to Xwing, autonomous flight control systems tend to be more fuel efficient than human pilots, and they can improve safety by removing the risk of human error. Autonomous flight operations could also help to open up the regional air mobility market by enabling more flight routes to communities that are currently underserved by aviation and taking advantage of underutilized airport infrastructure. This would give small and rural communities better access to goods and services, like same-day express deliveries and medical supplies.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
<p>While Xwing’s technology could one day be applied to commercial airliners carrying passengers, the company has so far been focused on cargo transportation and regional air mobility. To help develop and refine the Superpilot, Xwing has been operating as a Part 135 air carrier since 2020. The company uses 35 unmodified Cessna Grand Caravans to conduct more than 400 cargo flights for UPS every week, and it employs data from those flights to train the Superpilot with machine-learning algorithms.&nbsp;</p>
<p>“Our autonomous flight system provides immediate value for cargo logistics,” Piette said in a statement announcing the USAF contract. “The collaboration with the Air Force on these missions will provide valuable insight around high-priority system capabilities and help us to advance our technology toward dual-usage in commercial and military operations.”&nbsp;</p>


U.S. Air Force Contracts Xwing To Study Defense Applications for Self-flying Aircraft

<p>Autonomous aviation pioneer Xwing says it has formally begun the FAA approval process for its “Superpilot” autonomous flight control system, which the company plans to use for pilotless cargo delivery flights in the U.S.</p>
<p>Xwing says it recently filed its project-specific certification plan with the FAA, making the company’s self-piloting Cessna cargo airplane the first standard-category large uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) to receive official project designation from the agency.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Because the Superpilot is integrated into an existing, type-certified aircraft—a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan—Xwing is able to seek certification as a standard-category airplane. Until now, all aviation projects focusing on autonomy, such as drones and military aircraft, have had special-category airworthiness certificates.</p>
<p>“We're going to be in the National Airspace System, operating like any other aircraft at the same airports doing the same things that we did yesterday,” Earl Lawrence, Xwing’s chief compliance and quality officer, told <strong>FutureFlight</strong>. “We're a cargo operation. We meet all those air carrier standards, and we're going to continue to do that. But now we're saying the aircraft, meeting all of the normal category standards, will be automated and will be on those same routes that we had pilots on before.”</p>
<p>To prepare for eventual pilotless flights, Xwing has been operating a Part 135 air carrier service since 2021 and making&nbsp;about 400 weekly <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2022-07-27/autonomous-flight-pioneer-xwing-expands-air-cargo-operations-preparation">cargo delivery flights for UPS</a> using a fleet of unmodified Cessna Caravans. Xwing has been using data from those piloted flights to help develop and refine the Superpilot, which uses artificial intelligence and machine-learning technologies to guide decision-making processes. “We’re going to comply with the existing standard-category rules, but this will be the first application showing compliance for a machine-learned set of software,” Lawrence said.&nbsp;</p>
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<p>Xwing’s Superpilot uses a combination of software and hardware to control the aircraft while providing complete situational awareness during <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2021-04-15/xwing-achieves-autonomous-gate-gate-operations-test-flight">gate-to-gate operations</a>. The aircraft is equipped with dozens of sensors, as well as cameras, radar, and LIDAR systems mounted under the wing. The Superpilot combines data from those sensors with real-time airspace, airport, weather, and terrain map data to create a comprehensive view of its environment. Flights are monitored from the ground by an operator who can input manual controls if necessary.&nbsp;</p>
<p>While Xwing is focused on cargo operations for now, the company is designing its Superpilot to meet the FAA’s airworthiness safety requirements for passenger aircraft, which have the most stringent safety rules. That’s because the Cessna 208B Grand Caravan, which typically seats up to nine passengers, is already certified to those standards.&nbsp;</p>
<p>“We’re not limiting ourselves to cargo,” Lawrence said. “We're not trying to lower that standard…We are going to meet the level for which this aircraft was certified when it left the Cessna Aircraft Corporation because we don't want to reduce it. Our goal is to meet the requirements of the aircraft as they were certified.”</p>
<p>Now that the project-specific certification plans have been filed, Xwing will work closely with the FAA to finalize a G-1 issue paper, or certification basis, which spells out all the rules and regulations that apply to Xwing’s Superpilot certification project. Lawrence said it could take about three years before the FAA grants Xwing the supplemental type certificate (STC) it needs to begin commercial cargo operations without pilots on board.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Eventually, Xwing hopes its Superpilot will also be used for commercial passenger flights on larger airliners, although Lawrence admits that <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2022-08-19/xwing-says-cargo-operations-are-fast-track-autonomous-commercial-flights">passenger acceptance of pilotless airplanes</a> is a long way off. Single-pilot operations with highly automated pilot assistance technologies will be more feasible in the foreseeable future.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Another long-term goal for Xwing is to reduce or eliminate the emissions produced by its cargo fleet. However, the company isn’t in the business of developing powertrains. “If there was an STC available right now to be able to convert the fleet in a cost-effective way, we would be converting the fleet right now,” Xwing CEO Marc Piette told <strong>FutureFlight</strong>.&nbsp;</p>
<p>A handful of companies are in the process of developing electric, hybrid, and hydrogen fuel cell powertrains for Cessna Grand Caravans, such as <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2022-09-29/textron-partners-zeroavia-convert-grand-caravan-aircraft-hydrogen">ZeroAvia</a>, <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2022-05-13/ampaire-says-caravan-conversion-represents-fast-track-viable-electric">Ampaire</a>, <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2020-08-07/magnix-advances-three-electric-aircraft-programs-sights-set-2022-service">MagniX</a>, and <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2021-07-20/surf-air-plans-hybrid-electric-cessna-grand-caravan-private-flight-fleet">Surf Air Mobility</a>. Meanwhile, Piette said Xwing’s Superpilot technology is vehicle-agnostic and could be applied to any type of airplane, “whether it’s a turboprop, hybrid-electric aircraft, fully electric aircraft, or hydrogen fuel cell aircraft.” So, while Xwing could benefit from making its fleet of Caravans greener, manufacturers of other aircraft could also potentially incorporate Xwing’s Superpilot to make their own operations safer and more efficient. “These two technology stocks are really complementary, and they add to each other’s value,” Piette said.</p>


Xwing Begins FAA Certification Process for ‘Superpilot’ Autonomous Flight System

<p>Xwing, a California-based company developing autonomous flight technology, has been contracted by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to participate in the agency’s Crosscutting Operations Strategy and Technical Assessment (COSTA) air traffic management research project, the company announced on December 1.&nbsp;</p>
<p>As part of this project, Xwing will work together with the FAA and NASA, as well as partners at Alaska’s Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration, to study <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2022-10-12/nasa-contracts-xwing-study-safety-autonomous-flight-operations">how remotely piloted aircraft can be safely integrated</a> with the National Airspace System while flying in complex environments with flight restrictions, such as fire traffic areas where other aircraft are actively working to suppress wildfires.&nbsp;</p>
<p>“In that scenario, you have a lot of different types of aircraft in a contained area, [such as] fixed-wing aircraft dropping fire suppressant, you have small unmanned systems doing airborne reconnaissance, you have helicopters there—lots of different aircraft operating together,” and those operations typically require manual coordination between the pilots and other personnel on the scene, Xwing’s vice president of commercialization and strategy, Jesse Kallman, told <strong>FutureFlight</strong>.&nbsp;</p>
<p>“How will a large unmanned system with a remote pilot be able to actively integrate in that airspace? How will they sequence and manage that aircraft [and] communicate with the remote operator, and how does the remote operator communicate with other aircraft?” These are questions that the FAA seeks to answer through this new partnership with Xwing.&nbsp;</p>
<p>To help answer these types of questions, Xwing—which is already <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2022-10-06/human-loop-my-ride-xwings-self-flying-aircraft">conducting flight tests</a> with experimental Cessna Grand Caravans modified with autonomous flight technology—will fly its remotely piloted aircraft into real fire traffic areas in Northern California in early 2023. Those flights will depart from Xwing’s hangar at Buchanan Field Airport in Concord, California, just northeast of San Francisco. Each flight will have a safety pilot on board while remote operators monitor from the company’s mobile mission control center.&nbsp;</p>
<p>During the flight trials, Xwing’s autonomous Cessna airplanes will collect data that will be used to analyze various aspects of each mission, such as latency and response times between air traffic controllers, remote operators, and the aircraft themselves.&nbsp;</p>
<p>In addition to active wildfire fighting areas, as part of its involvement with the COSTA project Xwing will also be conducting similar flight trials in two other scenarios: oceanic operations and areas with dynamic flight restrictions. For example, Kallman explained, “if you're a large unmanned system en route, say an event is taking place or you're passing by a military area and there's a flight restriction that pops up, how does the FAA actively reroute and manage these kinds of aircraft in that scenario?”</p>
<p>Oceanic operations pose their own challenges for autonomous aircraft, because there may not be constant radar coverage. “Your exact location and position relative to other aircraft is also different, so it's going to be a lot more reliant on what information can we directly provide on the location, heading, and airspeed,” Kallman said.</p>
<p>The COSTA project, combined with Xwing’s other ongoing research and development, will be key to getting autonomous flight operations certified by the FAA. While Xwing is focused on developing autonomous flight capabilities, the company is also <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2022-07-27/autonomous-flight-pioneer-xwing-expands-air-cargo-operations-preparation">operating as a Part 135 cargo carrier</a> with a fleet of 35 unmodified Cessna Grand Caravans, which conduct about 400 cargo delivery flights per week for UPS. These piloted cargo operations supply Xwing with the data it needs to further refine its “Superpilot” autonomous flight control system.</p>


FAA Contracts Xwing to Conduct Autonomous Flight Trials Over Wildfires

<p>News and issues relating to the aerospace industry that are related to the science, engineering and business of flight in space involving civil, industrial and military applications, and similar topics related to flight in the atmosphere of the Earth that are not covered more directly by other AINonline subject channels. In other words, both astronautical and aeronautical subjects, except for those aeronautical topics that are specifically covered elsewhere on this website.</p>


What It’s Like to Fly on Xwing’s Experimental Self-flying Cessna Airplane

<p>Autonomous flight pioneer Xwing is working&nbsp;with NASA to develop a safety management system for increasingly autonomous flight operations, the company announced today.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Under the newly signed Space Act Agreement led by ​​NASA’s System-Wide Safety (SWS) Project, Xwing will share its data, algorithms, and autonomous flight expertise with the agency. NASA will use this to help validate and evaluate safety management systems for future autonomous flight operations. In return, the agency will share with Xwing “information and tools for the evaluation of algorithms and operational data, safety analysis and assessment, safety management systems, and risk analysis and prognostics,” the company said in a statement.</p>
<p>“It's helpful for us in how we develop our products, getting access to a lot of the great research and data and things that NASA has developed over the last several years when it comes to this market,” Xwing’s vice president of commercialization and strategy, Jesse Kallman, told <strong>FutureFlight</strong>.&nbsp;</p>
<p>San Francisco-based Xwing aims to operate a fleet of modified, self-flying Cessna 208B Grand Caravan cargo planes without any pilots on board, with ground controllers monitoring multiple simultaneous flights from a mission control center. The company has been flight-testing its so-called “Superpilot” autonomous flight system for&nbsp;two years under an experimental certificate for research and development purposes, and it achieved the <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2021-04-15/xwing-achieves-autonomous-gate-gate-operations-test-flight">first fully autonomous gate-to-gate flight</a> in February 2021.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The company, which is already <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2022-07-27/autonomous-flight-pioneer-xwing-expands-air-cargo-operations-preparation">operating as a Part 135 air cargo carrier</a> in the U.S.&nbsp;and delivering cargo for UPS, is working toward a supplemental type certificate that will allow it to begin making cargo deliveries with its modified Cessna airplanes.&nbsp;The company hopes to eventually have its Superpilot <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2022-08-19/xwing-says-cargo-operations-are-fast-track-autonomous-commercial-flights">certified for passenger flights</a>, too.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
<p>Kallman explained that the focus of the three-year contract with NASA will be to study the impact that autonomous flight operations will have on the National Airspace System, particularly when it comes to the safety implications associated with self-flying, pilotless aircraft. Xwing and NASA will work together to identify and quantify those risks.</p>
<p>“NASA focuses its research and technology transfers to have real impact, and this will help NASA understand the real-world challenges that industry is facing,” said NASA SWS project manager Misty Davies. “Emerging aviation relies heavily on advanced automation to ensure safety, and Xwing is working to bring novel, safe aviation opportunities to the American public.”</p>
<p>One thing Xwing will share with NASA is the company’s concept of operations, which lays out exactly how, when, and where Xwing plans to conduct its autonomous flights. The concept of operations also details how Xwing’s autonomous aircraft will interact with the surrounding airspace. The company will also provide NASA with data and algorithms pertaining to its vision-based auto-landing system, which uses sensors and cameras to allow its aircraft to autonomously land on airport runways.</p>
<p>Because NASA already works closely with the FAA and the private sector on advanced air mobility, the agency will be able to provide Xwing with “access to a ton of data from a variety of different flight-test campaigns,” Kallman said. “They’ve developed their own internal algorithms, [which] they can then provide back to the market, so there's an opportunity for us to better improve our auto-landing system by using additional datasets that maybe they have that we don't have access to.” For example, NASA has developed and released a <a href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20200001198">vehicle-to-vehicle communication tool for collision avoidance</a> in dense urban environments, which the agency has shared with the private sector to help improve safety.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Xwing’s agreement with NASA will provide the company with “new algorithms that are potentially developed in the government, which we can then use commercially to improve our products and make them safer,” Kallman said.</p>
<p>The findings of this Space Act Agreement could also affect FAA regulations pertaining to autonomy and uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS), Xwing founder and CEO Marc Piette told <strong>FutureFlight</strong>. “Some of the work with NASA and the FAA here is really, how can we figure out ways to certify these types of technologies,” Piette said.&nbsp;</p>
<p>“In our case, that's where the fleet comes in. We've been building up a fleet on the Part 135 side. That's why we're flying 400 flights a week right now, and that's going to keep expanding because it does allow us to collect data across all sorts of environments and geographies,” Piette said. “That data feeds into the algorithms from a training perspective, but it also helps us validate the performance of the systems as well, so these things come together.”</p>


NASA Contracts Xwing To Study Safety of Autonomous Flight Operations

<p>I’m in the cockpit of a modified Cessna 208B Grand Caravan, descending from an altitude of about 4,000 feet down to California’s Yolo County Airport, just west of Sacramento. Seated to my left, the pilot is glancing over his landing checklist but keeps his hands off the controls. The yoke turns and presses forward as we prepare for the landing, all while the pilot’s hands are resting in his lap—almost as if a ghost has taken control of the aircraft.&nbsp;</p>
<p>But there are no ghosts at the helm of this airplane. Rather, it is being flown by Xwing’s trademarked “Superpilot,” a fully autonomous flight system that Xwing installed on this otherwise ordinary Cessna aircraft. The Superpilot is capable of taking off, landing, and taxiing without any pilot intervention.&nbsp;</p>
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<p>Xwing aims to operate a fleet of these modified Cessnas under a supplemental type certificate, which will allow it to use the unpiloted aircraft for <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2020-08-21/xwing-unveils-plans-autonomous-cargo-operations">autonomous cargo delivery flights</a>. Rather than have a safety pilot on board, as there was during my demonstration flight, Xwing will have ground controllers supervising multiple simultaneous flights from the company's mission control center.</p>
<p>The company has been flight-testing its Superpilot&nbsp;autonomous flight system for the last two years under an experimental certificate for research and development purposes, and it achieved the <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2021-04-15/xwing-achieves-autonomous-gate-gate-operations-test-flight">first fully autonomous gate-to-gate flight</a> in February 2021.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Xwing's Superpilot uses a combination of software and hardware to control the aircraft while providing complete situational awareness. The aircraft is equipped with dozens of sensors, as well as cameras, radar, and LIDAR systems mounted under the aircraft’s wing. The Superpilot combines data from those sensors with real-time airspace, airport, weather, and terrain map data to create a comprehensive view of its environment.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The San Francisco-based company says its Superpilot system can automatically detect and avoid hazards, such as other aircraft, both in the air and on the ground. However, during our demonstration, adjustments to the planned flight path were all done remotely by Xwing’s ground controllers, located in a small trailer at the airport.&nbsp;</p>
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            <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item">  <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/futureflight/import/20221003_114524.jpg" width="2200" height="1080" alt="Xwing’s flight test operations manager monitors the flight from inside the mobile mission control center." title="Inside Xwing's mobile mission control center at Yolo County Airport, Xwing’s flight test operations manager Craig Milliard monitors the autonomous flights. (Photo: Hanneke Weitering)">

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            <div class="field field--name-field-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Inside Xwing's mobile mission control center at Yolo County Airport, Xwing’s flight test operations manager Craig Milliard monitors the autonomous flights. (Photo: Hanneke Weitering)</div>
      
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<figcaption>Inside Xwing's mobile mission control center at Yolo County Airport, Xwing’s flight test operations manager, Craig Milliard, monitors the autonomous flights. (Photo: Hanneke Weitering)</figcaption>
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<p>The role of the onboard pilot—in this case, Xwing’s safety pilot, Gabriele Di Francesco—is to supervise the autonomous flight, and to&nbsp;take control of the aircraft only on the off chance that there’s a problem with the Superpilot. But the Superpilot worked exactly as planned during my demonstration flight, and no pilot intervention was necessary during the autonomous landing and subsequent takeoff at Yolo County Airport.&nbsp;</p>
<p>However, I did see Di Francesco manually fly the airplane earlier during our flight demonstration. That morning, we originally departed from Xwing’s hangar at Buchanan Field Airport in Concord, California, just northeast of San Francisco. Due to FAA rules, the experimental aircraft is not allowed to fly autonomously over densely populated areas, so the pilot had to manually control it during our first takeoff. Shortly after takeoff, as we began making our way toward Yolo County Airport, the Superpilot was turned on with the push of a button, and it was smooth sailing from there.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Xwing’s Cessna flew fully autonomously the rest of the way to Yolo County Airport, then landed, taxied, and took off again, all without any pilot intervention. After completing a circuit above the airport, while still flying autonomously, the aircraft returned for a second landing at Yolo, after which the Superpilot taxied over to Xwing’s mobile mission control center. I hopped off the airplane and stepped inside the trailer to witness essentially the exact same flight plan, this time from the ground controller’s perspective.&nbsp;</p>
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            <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item">  <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/futureflight/import/20221003_114856.jpg" width="2200" height="1082" alt="Xwing's mobile mission control center" title="Xwing's mobile mission control center is located inside this trailer, which is currently stationed at Yolo County Airport in California. The company plans to eventually build a permanent ground station for the remote operation of its entire fleet of modified Cessna planes. (Photo: Hanneke Weitering)">

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            <div class="field field--name-field-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Xwing's mobile mission control center is located inside this trailer, which is currently stationed at Yolo County Airport in California. The company plans to eventually build a permanent ground station for the remote operation of its entire fleet of modified Cessna planes. (Photo: Hanneke Weitering)</div>
      
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<figcaption>Xwing's mobile mission control center is inside this trailer, which is at Yolo County Airport in California. The company plans to eventually build a permanent ground station for the remote operation of its entire fleet of modified Cessna airplanes. (Photo: Hanneke Weitering)</figcaption>
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<p>Because Yolo is a non-towered airport, meaning it has no air traffic control unit on site, Xwing’s ground controller had to monitor the local air traffic before takeoff. “Parking brake set,” a Siri-like voice said over the speaker as the taxiing Cessna came to a stop on the runway while waiting for the opportune time to begin taking off. The Superpilot identifies runway hold position markings and automatically stops to await clearance for takeoff. In this case, because Yolo airport is uncontrolled, the ground controller—Xwing’s flight test operations manager, Craig Milliard—had to give the clearance.</p>
<p>“Continuing taxi. Brake released,” the Superpilot’s voice announced as the aircraft continued onto the runway. “Auto takeoff initiated,” it said before the aircraft accelerated down the runway and took to the sky.&nbsp;</p>
<p>While the Cessna flew a circuit around Yolo Airport, another general aviation aircraft was taking off from the runway below. To ensure that this aircraft did not cross paths with Xwing’s Cessna, Milliard remotely commanded the airplane to begin a “right 360” maneuver by pressing two buttons on his control panel. This briefly diverted the aircraft from its planned route by flying in a small, tangential circle to make room for the other airplane to take off.&nbsp;</p>
<p>“So, that’s the fun of working at an uncontrolled airfield. People can fly in predictable patterns, and there’s someone taking off, so we couldn’t then circle back around across the departure path,” Milliard told <strong>FutureFlight</strong>. “Fortunately we’ve been doing this long enough that we’ve figured out how to automate various pieces of the traffic pattern. So, that was a two-button press for me to be able to build spacing behind someone and also not interfere with other traffic that’s behind us,” he explained. “Having these operations today has really been teaching us a lot about our system and how it needs to be built for future airspace integration.”</p>
<p>As the Cessna descended back down to the runway, the computerized voice announced, “auto-land sequence initiated.” This voice is audible both in the control room and in the safety pilot’s headset, which helps to reduce the amount of back-and-forth communication between the safety pilot and ground control crew, Milliard said.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The Cessna once again touched down safely and taxied back to the mobile mission control center, where I boarded the aircraft one last time to begin the journey back to Buchanan Airfield. As with the first leg of our trip, the aircraft took off and cruised autonomously, but the safety pilot had to take over manual control as we flew over the more densely populated area near our destination. But as soon as we landed, the Superpilot was in control again, and the aircraft taxied itself back to Xwing’s hangar.&nbsp;</p>
<p>While all of Xwing’s flights today have a safety pilot on board, the company is planning to eventually switch over to fully autonomous flights with no pilots in the cockpit. For now, the company is focused on certifying its modified Cessnas for fully autonomous cargo flights, but it aims to one day be able <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2022-08-19/xwing-says-cargo-operations-are-fast-track-autonomous-commercial-flights">to transport passengers</a>&nbsp;on pilotless airplanes as well.&nbsp;</p>
<p>In preparation for fully autonomous cargo flights, Xwing is already <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2022-07-27/autonomous-flight-pioneer-xwing-expands-air-cargo-operations-preparation">operating as a Part 135 air cargo carrier</a> and provides delivery services under a contract with UPS. Using its fleet of 35 unmodified Cessna Grand Caravans, the company makes about 400 flights per week. All of those flights, which still have onboard pilots in full control of the aircraft, are supplying Xwing with the data it needs to further refine its autonomous flight system.&nbsp;</p>
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            <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item">  <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/futureflight/import/Xwing%20Air%20Cargo%20Map1.png" width="2200" height="1253" alt="This map shows all the cargo routes that Xwing flies using its fleet of unmodified Cessna Grand Caravans." title="This map shows all the cargo routes that Xwing flies using its fleet of unmodified Cessna Grand Caravans. (Credit: Xwing)">

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            <div class="field field--name-field-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">This map shows all the cargo routes that Xwing flies using its fleet of unmodified Cessna Grand Caravans. (Credit: Xwing)</div>
      
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<figcaption>This map shows all the cargo routes that Xwing flies using its fleet of unmodified Cessna Grand Caravans. (Credit: Xwing)</figcaption>
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<p>“All the data on every single flight data is being collected and then sent to a cloud,” Xwing founder and CEO Marc Piette told <strong>FutureFlight</strong> back at the hangar. “So we're caching some of that data here for quick processing and access, and then we're backing everything up to the cloud, and it's being used for all sorts of features and functionality.”&nbsp;</p>
<p>If all goes according to plan, Xwing expects it will be able to have the autonomously piloted Caravans&nbsp;certified to conduct commercial cargo delivery flights without a pilot on board by 2024, with operational autonomous flights beginning in 2025. However, it's not yet clear how long it will take to certify the autonomous aircraft for pilotless commercial flights with passengers on board, as the FAA and other international regulators have yet to confirm the certification basis on which they would allow that to happen.</p>
<p>Piette said he believes small, unpiloted aircraft will be certified to carry passengers by the end of this decade, but certification&nbsp;for larger commercial airliners will take much longer.&nbsp;"Over time, this technology is going to keep evolving," he noted. "And of course, there's also going to be other applications supported beyond cargo. It's going to&nbsp;be plenty of work for the foreseeable future. Let's put it that way."</p>


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