Test flights begin for unmanned Cessna 208

Reliable Robotics has entered into a new contract with NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD) to collect data from demonstration flights of its automated Cessna 208B Caravan at and around airports in the National Airspace System (NAS).

Data collected from the flights will be provided to the FAA and Standards Development Organizations (SDOs) to support the creation and validation of uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) performance standards, according to company officials.

“For large UAS to be operationally viable at scale, they must be safe and reliable throughout a variety of dynamic environments and contingency scenarios,” company officials said. “Airport environments are critical as they include operations with higher traffic density. UAS operations in this airspace require detailed collaboration with air traffic control to enable safe and efficient aircraft movement, and aircraft must operate safely in proximity during critical phases of flight including taxi, takeoff, departure, approach, and landing.”

Reliable’s flight tests will demonstrate regional air cargo operations in a terminal area in which maneuvers, procedures, ATC interactions, and implications of visual clearances for remotely piloted operations are assessed. Multiple data collection flights will be conducted, including flights designed to demonstrate contingency scenarios including lost link procedures, detect and avoid with visual observers, and Global Positioning System degraded and denied scenarios, according to company officials.

While these contingencies are unlikely, this partnership will advance specific operational mitigations, company officials said.

They noted that the final flight demonstration will be operated in accordance with Reliable’s prior FAA authorizations and have no pilot onboard.

Upon completion of the contract, Reliable will document the functions and features tested throughout the flight test campaign along with a summary of data collection results for NASA, FAA, and SDOs to support the development and validation of Minimum Operational Performance Standards (MOPS), Minimum Aviation System Performance Standards (MASPS), or other standards for large UAS.

“This testing campaign comes at a unique moment in time, when safety-enhancing aircraft autonomy is rapidly nearing FAA certification and entry into service for regional air cargo and military use cases. Efforts like this are how we continue to advance the necessary public policy ecosystem,” said Robert Rose, CEO and co-founder, Reliable Robotics.

The company’s Reliable Autonomy System (RAS) automates all phases of flight from taxi, takeoff, en route, and landing. Its Detect and Avoid (DAA) system enables airspace integration, and consists of a radar, Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) In, active surveillance of aircraft transponders, an airborne processor unit running Airborne Collision Avoidance System (ACAS), and a traffic display for the remote pilot.

For more information: Reliable.co