While the Cessna flew a circuit around Yolo Airport, another general aviation aircraft was taking off from the runway below. “Auto takeoff initiated,” it said before the aircraft accelerated down the runway and took to the sky. Brake released,” the Superpilot’s voice announced as the aircraft continued onto the runway. In this case, because Yolo airport is uncontrolled, the ground controller-Xwing’s flight test operations manager, Craig Milliard-had to give the clearance. The Superpilot identifies runway hold position markings and automatically stops to await clearance for 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. (Photo: Hanneke Weitering)īecause 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. The company plans to eventually build a permanent ground station for the remote operation of its entire fleet of modified Cessna airplanes. Xwing's mobile mission control center is inside this trailer, which is at Yolo County Airport in California. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. That morning, we originally departed from Xwing’s hangar at Buchanan Field Airport in Concord, California, just northeast of San Francisco. However, I did see Di Francesco manually fly the airplane earlier during our flight demonstration. 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. The role of the onboard pilot-in this case, Xwing’s safety pilot, Gabriele Di Francesco-is to supervise the autonomous flight, and to take control of the aircraft only on the off chance that there’s a problem with the Superpilot. Inside Xwing's mobile mission control center at Yolo County Airport, Xwing’s flight test operations manager, Craig Milliard, monitors the autonomous flights. 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. 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. 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. The aircraft is equipped with dozens of sensors, as well as cameras, radar, and LIDAR systems mounted under the aircraft’s wing. Xwing's Superpilot uses a combination of software and hardware to control the aircraft while providing complete situational awareness. The company has been flight-testing its Superpilot autonomous flight system for the last two years under an experimental certificate for research and development purposes, and it achieved the first fully autonomous gate-to-gate flight in February 2021. 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. 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 autonomous cargo delivery flights.
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