After completing the world’s first electric air taxi flights in Guangzhou and Hefei in December, EHang on Sunday made debut passenger carrying flights in the city of Taiyuan.

The trips, completed using EHang’s self-flying EH216-S air taxi, follow the company’s delivery of 10 aircraft to Xishan Tourism, which in May signed a purchase order for 50 units. The companies have a tentative agreement for EHang to deliver 450 aircraft over the next two years, with an eye toward launching aerial tourism and sightseeing services across North China.

“We have gradually delivered EH216-S by batches to Taiyuan, Hefei, Wuxi, Wencheng, Zhuhai, and other places, and are actively assisting our local partners who are creating application scenarios to obtain [air operator certification],” said Zhao Wang, chief operating officer of EHang.

EHang received its own air operator certificate last week from China’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAAC).

The province of Shanxi, in which Taiyuan is located, has been designated by the Chinese government as a national demonstration province for the country’s low-altitude economy, an analog to the advanced air mobility (AAM) industry forming in the U.S. and elsewhere. Taiyuan is the region’s capital and largest city and is considered a political and economic center.

The measure subsidizes regular, low-altitude tourism flights in the region, as well as the construction of infrastructure and other capabilities needed for routine service.

“Taiyuan is a national civil unmanned aerial vehicle test zone, with the foundation and advantages to develop the aviation industry, and will actively seize the lead in the emerging low-altitude economy industry,” said Jicheng Yang, executive vice mayor of Taiyuan and a member of the city’s municipal committee. “Taiyuan will enhance policy support, essential guarantees, and innovation capabilities, and promote the deep integration of technological innovation and the low-altitude economy.”

Xishan Tourism plans to use the designation to launch low-altitude sightseeing and tourism routes to local sites such as Yuquan Mountain, Paddy Field Park, and Juewei Mountain.

On Sunday, two EH216-S aircraft, carrying two passengers each, took off and flew autonomously from Paddy Field Park in a ceremony attended by regional government officials and industry experts. Two of the passengers were officials within the newly formed Taiyuan Xishan Ecological Tourism Demonstration Zone.

Xishan Tourism, though, said it is still working toward “regular operation”—in other words, the flights are not yet routine, as is the case in Guangzhou and Hefei.

“Xishan Tourism plans to collaborate with EHang and other partners on low-altitude scenarios of air mobility, tourism, and public services to establish multiple flight camps or landing pads, alongside various low-altitude sightseeing routes for pilotless eVTOL within Taiyuan and nearby scenic areas,” said Yaozong Chang, chairman of Xishan Tourism. “We aim to build an urban low-altitude tourism mobility network and a new urban air traffic management system, and to establish a low-altitude economy industrial park.”

EHang at the event also demonstrated its longer-range, passenger-carrying VT-30, firefighting EH216-F, and EH216-L for cargo logistics.

All four aircraft were on display in the Middle East in May, when the manufacturer completed that region’s first passenger carrying eVTOL flights in the United Arab Emirates.

The company’s flagship EH216-S is the first and only eVTOL design to receive type certification from a national aviation regulator, the CAAC. The regulator in December also handed the EH216-S the world’s first eVTOL airworthiness certification and in April gave the green light for EHang to begin mass manufacturing the model.

That puts the company well ahead of competitors in the U.S. such as Archer Aviation and Joby Aviation, which are building piloted air taxis but have yet to obtain any of those three approvals. Both companies are targeting commercial rollouts in 2025.

Like EHang, Boeing air taxi subsidiary Wisk Aero is building a self-flying design but does not expect it to fly commercially until the end of the decade.

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On Monday at the Farnborough International Airshow in the U.K., Wisk, in an expansion of its partnership with vertiport developer Skyports, announced an electric air taxi network that it hinted could be ready in time for the marquee event.

Wisk and Skyports in 2022 gave an early look at their vision for an eVTOL air taxi network, complete with infrastructure for vertical takeoff and landing, or vertiports. They will function much like heliports with electric aircraft chargers to juice up Wisk’s air taxi.

The partners now are working with the Council of Mayors of Australia’s South East Queensland (SEQ) region, with which Wisk has collaborated since 2022, to devise a network for the company’s Generation 6 model.

A prototype of the flagship design has a range of 90 sm (78 nm) with reserves and charge time of 15 minutes. Like designs from competitors Archer Aviation and Joby Aviation, the Gen 6 features tilting propellers that aid in both vertical and forward flight. Wisk, though, is one of a handful of firms in the industry looking to fly autonomously at launch. It projects a commercial rollout will happen by the end of the decade.

Wisk and Skyports will pick out hubs for the air taxi across the SEQ region, home to an estimated 4 million and growing. The partners said they will study regional travel patterns, conduct feasibility studies, and speak with local communities about what to expect from the service.

They also noted that the region is already preparing for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic games, saying they expect to plan out air taxi infrastructure in time for the big event.

“We’re excited to see this evolving industry bring high-value local jobs to SEQ and support improved services like medical and tourism,” said Scott Smith, CEO of the SEQ Council of Mayors. “To secure our place as a global destination, we must be at the forefront of adopting emerging technologies.”

Wisk is developing a similar network in Japan in partnership with flag carrier Japan Airlines.

It likewise has plans for the U.S. in the Greater Houston region of Texas and is working toward bringing the Gen 6 to Long Beach, California. Officials in Los Angeles are preparing for the introduction of air taxis ahead of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, though it is unclear if Wisk will meet that deadline.

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On Monday, the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) announced that it and the Air Mobility Command (AMC), which provides aerial refueling and airlift services for U.S. forces worldwide, began testing a UAS traffic management (UTM) system at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida.

The system, called CLUE, or Collaborative Low-Altitude Unmanned Aircraft System Integration Effort, is designed to integrate UAS flights next to crewed aircraft above and around Air Force installations. According to the AFRL, MacDill is the first base to use a UTM system in airspace overseen by Department of Defense air traffic controllers.

“This is a significant milestone for AMC, AFRL, and the CLUE program, as the MacDill Air Traffic Control Tower and Base Defense Operations Center are first in the Air Force to operationally assess UTM capabilities,” said Phil Zaleski, manager of the AFRL CLUE program.

CLUE was born out of the AFRL’s Information Directorate as a project meant to provide “air domain awareness, situational awareness, and UTM operational capabilities for UAS operators, air traffic control [ATC] personnel, Security Forces and other stakeholders.”

The system arrived at MacDill in 2022, where initial testing focused on airspace deconfliction, communication, and security. The goal was to enable drone flights beyond the visual line of sight (BVLOS) of the operator, which are heavily scrutinized and restricted by the FAA.

Since then, the UTM platform has been developed to give air traffic controllers a three-dimensional view of UAS activity and make it possible to grant flight permissions automatically.

“Equipping airspace managers and UAS operators with a 3D operational viewing capability and additional features designed to reduce lengthy manual and advanced planning procedures will be critical to achieving real-time flight planning and mission execution,” said James Layton, chief of plans and programs at MacDill.

The system is also sensor-agnostic, meaning it integrates with an array of different sensors designed to detect, track, and identify drones, including a counter UAS system being tested at MacDill.

The Air Force in May began formally testing CLUE’s capabilities on the base, opening it to the site’s ATC tower, Defense Operations Center, and airfield management team. Personnel so far have used the system to plan the intent of UAS flights or let operators know where they are approved to fly a drone, for example.

Operators ask CLUE for the all clear to fly, and their request is either approved or denied by the control tower. Once permission is granted, they can fly within a bounded area. CLUE feeds the operators information about the airspace and other nearby aircraft, helping them stay within the approved zone while avoiding other drones.

The UTM system has also been installed at Eglin AFB’s Duke Field (KEGI) in Florida, where the AFRL conducted a demonstration of its capabilities in 2023. There, CLUE will begin by integrating flights of small UAS (weighing less than 70 pounds) before moving to larger designs, including electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxis such as Joby Aviation’s five-seat S4.

Joby, partnering with AFWERX, the Air Force’s innovation arm, earlier this year committed to deliver two air taxis to MacDill and has also shipped a prototype aircraft to Edwards AFB in California.

MacDill in May also hosted flights of a KC-135 Stratotanker equipped with an autonomous flight system from developer Merlin Labs, which is designed to one day enable fully remote flights. That technology, as well as systems from fellow AFWERX collaborators Xwing and Reliable Robotics, could one day be integrated into the CLUE UTM.

AFWERX and the AFRL are not the only government entities studying UTM systems. The Air Force is working with NASA to build a digital operations center for drones and electric air taxis nationwide and is collaborating with the FAA to integrate novel and uncrewed aircraft with air traffic control and other systems within the national airspace.

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The manufacturer on Tuesday announced the acquisition of Verocel, a software verification and validation (V&V) company focused on the certification of aerospace software—with a particular focus on autonomous designs. Unlike competitors such as Archer Aviation or Joby Aviation, which plan to fly autonomous in the future, Wisk intends for its Gen 6 to fly itself at launch.

Verocel’s flagship offering, VeroTrace, assists manufacturers with software certification definitions, tracking, and submissions to the FAA. Wisk intends to use it to support Gen 6 certification, but it said the software may also be used in “future software development projects for Boeing.” In addition, more than 50 Verocel engineers based in Massachusetts and Poland will join Wisk.

“High-integrity software development is critical for our mission to certify an autonomous, electric aircraft, with V&V being a significant portion of the total software certification effort,” said Brian Yutko, CEO of Wisk. “Verocel’s specialized and talented team will bring with them deep experience and rigor, helping to accelerate our autonomous certification project that is already well underway.”

According to Verocel, team members have extensive knowledge of Software Considerations in Airborne Systems and Equipment Certification, or DO-178C—a document used by regulators including the FAA, European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), and Transport Canada to approve commercial aerospace software.

The company is part of several aerospace industry standards committees including a special committee within the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics (RTCA), the EUROCAE Working Group, and the FAA’s Overarching Properties Working Group. Over the course of 25 years and more than 160 projects, it has performed work for Boeing and GE Aerospace, among others.

“Not only is this a chance to directly apply our expertise to the certification of a groundbreaking technology, but this is also an incredible opportunity for Verocel talent to excel within Wisk and the broader Boeing ecosystem long term,” said Jim Chelini, president of Verocel.

Beyond V&V, Verocel also develops the safety computers used in the FAA’s Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), which is intended to improve the accuracy and availability of global positioning systems (GPS). WAAS allows an aircraft to rely on GPS for all phases of flight, including vertical landings.

Wisk is staring down a more rigorous certification process than its competitors, and the acquisition of Verocel is intended to get the ball rolling faster. The manufacturer aims to introduce the Gen 6 before the end of the decade in markets such as Los Angeles and the Greater Houston Area, where it is developing a vertiport hub at Sugar Land Regional Airport (KSGR).

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Pyka, a manufacturer of electric uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS), on Monday partnered with aerospace and defense contractor Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) to introduce a variant of its flagship Pelican Cargo drone for DOD use.

“SNC has extensive experience modifying products from the Silicon Valley technology ecosystem to fit DOD requirements, and they are committed to making cutting-edge technology like Pelican Cargo available to the United States government,” said Michael Norcia, co-founder and CEO of Pyka.

The cargo version of Pelican—which also comes in a crop-spraying configuration, Pelican Spray—is the world’s largest zero-emission cargo aircraft, according to Pyka.

Unveiled in January, the UAS has a massive 400-pound payload and 70 cubic feet of cargo volume, far larger than what is seen on a typical delivery drone. It has a length of about 22 feet and a 38-foot wingspan, with a range of up to 200 miles and cruise speed of 60-70 knots.

“Pyka’s Pelican Cargo is unlike any other UAS solution on the market for contested logistics,” said Michael Bertman, vice president of programs at SNC. “We assessed a number of leading capabilities and concluded that the Pelican Cargo is significantly more capable than any other platform. It is the only all-electric, austere environment cargo aircraft with that kind of range, payload capacity, and cargo volume.”

Pyka and SNC together introduced RumRunner, a modified version of Pelican Cargo that also has a 400-pound payload and 200-mile range but was designed specifically for defense applications.

The UAS has four electric motors powered by triple-redundant batteries, which can be recharged within an hour or swapped out in five minutes. It flies fully autonomously using Pyka’s proprietary Flight Engine, which processes millions of inputs per second from the aircraft’s lidar, downward facing lasers, inertial measurement units, and air data booms. The system uses 3D aerial mapping and dynamic path planning to detect obstacles.

One key feature of the zero-emission design is its super-short takeoff and landing (SSTOL) capability. With a full payload, Pelican Cargo requires just 500 feet of runway to take off. According to Pyka, this enables operations with “an order of magnitude less infrastructure than previously possible.”

In addition, the drone can operate at night using GPS and laser- or radar-based navigation. It can be loaded in just five minutes, Pyka says, using a nose-loading configuration with a sliding cargo tray.

“Creating a more diverse, distributed, and survivable supply chain is expected to be the primary driver in terms of interest from the DOD,” said Bertman. “The zero-fuel component minimizes the need to forward-stage bulk fuel, which significantly reduces the logistics tail normally associated with resupply operations. This presents opportunities to increase the survivability of our service members, reduce risks to the force, and transform the way military operations have historically been conducted.”

Pyka, like many manufacturers of electric or autonomous aircraft, also has a relationship with AFWERX, the innovation arm of the U.S. Air Force. In February, it delivered the first of three Pelican Cargo aircraft, on lease to AFWERX, to New Braunfels National Airport (KBAZ) in Texas, where Air Force personnel will explore its applications for defense.

Pyka so far has precommitments on over 80 orders and options for Pelican Cargo from three launch customers in North America and Europe, including London-based Skyports Drone Services.

In March, the manufacturer secured a 110,000-square-foot corporate headquarters and production facility in Alameda, California, the site of the historic Alameda Naval Air Station. It will use the facility to design, develop, and manufacture aircraft at scale after it settles into the site later this year.

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Rotor said it designed the R550X to carry loads of 1,200 pounds, or 550 kilograms. It can fly for up to three hours and has a top speed of 130 ktas. The helicopter can operate beyond the range of drones and eVTOLs and is suitable for cargo, utility, and maritime operations that are too demanding for lighter aircraft.

• READ MORE: Longtime Rotorcraft and UAV Developer Acquires Former Sikorsky Plant

The R550X can operate in a range of conditions, including at night and during limited visibility, thanks to its digital flight control systems. Rotor’s software helps the aircraft avoid hazards that have often contributed to helicopter accidents, such as inadvertent entry into instrument meteorological conditions, loss of control, mast bumping, and controlled flight into terrain.

“The R550X is going to bring huge safety and economic benefits to a wide range of helicopter use cases,” says Rotor CEO Hector Xu. “Demonstrating the impact of autonomy in dangerous missions like crop dusting and aerial firefighting is the first step towards our vision for safe and accessible vertical flight.”

• READ MORE: Beta Technologies Reveals Electric Aircraft In Development

The R550X is designed as an uncrewed aircraft and operates in the experimental category. It is meant for agricultural, firefighting, inspection, and maritime operations and is not intended for carrying people. The company said it is currently building two R550Xs for agricultural aircraft operators who plan to use them for spraying crops.

“We have a number of agricultural customers who want to start operating the R550X as soon as possible, and this demand is driving us to begin production immediately,” said Ben Frank, Rotor’s chief commercial officer.

The company expects the aircraft’s first commercial operations in the U.S. to begin in 2024, followed by international operations.

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EHang, a Guangzhou-based manufacturer of autonomous eVTOL aircraft for passenger transport and tourism services, announced it has completed all planned tests and flights of its EH216-S two-seater in the last phase of demonstrating compliance of its technology.

The flight test regimen included a definitive final demonstration for the Civil Aviation Authority of China (CAAC), which eliminated the last obstacle on the aircraft’s path to type certification, according to the company. EHang expects to obtain that approval “soon” after it wraps up a handful of final procedures.

“This achievement marks a significant, unprecedented milestone in the global emerging eVTOL industry, underscoring our unwavering dedication and pioneering advantages,” said Huazhi Hu, founder, chairman, and CEO of EHang. “Additionally, this sets the stage for us to secure the type certificate soon and proceed with our endeavors to initiate commercial operations.”

The CAAC also approved EHang’s Unmanned Aircraft Cloud System (UACS) for trial operations, representing another key step toward the entry into service Hu alluded to. The system is expected to be an important component of the company’s operations and will help customers orchestrate multiple aircraft, manage airspace and flight plans, and more.

The two announcements represent a blow to U.S. eVTOL firms and aviation regulators that are hoping to be the first to launch AAM services in 2025. EHang, however, is expected to enter service as early as this year or next, starting with China and Japan. 

The company currently ranks fifth on SMG Consulting’s AAM Reality Index, which measures an AAM manufacturer’s likelihood of certifying their aircraft, entering service, and producing thousands of units per year. It’s the top AAM company looking to serve the tourism industry.

Certifying the EH216-S

The next step for EHang will be obtaining type certification for its eVTOL, a small, wingless, fully autonomous design unlike most others in development. By and large, manufacturers, such as Archer Aviation and Lilium, are building larger, winged models to be flown by an onboard pilot.

EH216-S will carry two passengers at low altitude on short- and medium-haul routes. It has a 485-pound payload and an 18.5 sm (16 nm) range when fully loaded. The aircraft cruises at around 62 mph (54 knots) and can hit a top speed of 80 mph (69.5 knots), making it slower than most models expected to enter service.

A coaxial dual-propeller architecture makes the design light and reduces the space and structural components required to install propellers and motors. Its eight foldable arms house 18 lift-and-thrust rotors. Notably, it lacks fixed wings, a staple of most eVTOL models.

EHang’s three core design philosophies for EH216-S are full redundancy, an autonomous pilot, and a centralized command and control center. In addition to redundant batteries, the eVTOL includes backups for all major flight components, multiple flight control systems, and a built-in fail-safe system that allows a remote pilot to take over in case of emergency.

Though it’s capable of flying entirely on its own, EH216-S uses 4G and 5G wireless transmission to communicate with a command and control center. As mentioned, the center lets remote pilots step in as needed, but it also monitors and displays real-time flight data such as battery level, altitude, speed, and position. It centralizes the routing, dispatch, and management of multiple flight routes and aircraft flying simultaneously, giving operators a firm grip on their activities.

The CAAC officially accepted EHang’s type certification application for EH216-S in January 2021. Over the past 30-plus months, the company has completed over 9,300 low-altitude tourism flight trials in 18 Chinese cities, including the mega-metropolises of Guangzhou and Shenzhen. It also completed Japan’s first passenger-carrying flight of an autonomous eVTOL in February.

EHang has tested the aircraft’s load, durability, reliability, and environmental impact, flying it under low and high temperatures and in high humidity, salt spray, and even typhoon conditions. It also evaluated batteries, electronics, software, the data link to the ground control station, and other components to demonstrate they meet CAAC airworthiness and safety standards.

EH216-S’s recent demonstration before CAAC marked the final milestone before it can achieve type certification.

“I believe the remaining procedures will be finished very soon before the official authorization of the type certificate,” said Hu. “It will pave the way for our commercial operations in the next stage.”

UACS Approval Adds Momentum

Cloud software has become a critical safeguard for the secure and efficient operation of unmanned aircraft. Just about every eVTOL manufacturer has some form of this technology, and EHang is no exception.

The company’s UACS manages airspace, aircraft, and flight plans and operators, including “cluster management” for the safe operation of multiple aircraft in the same airspace. Now, a CAAC letter of approval for trials signifies it meets China’s civil aviation standards. According to EHang, the tech will be a key component of service following type certification.

“From unmanned aerial vehicle systems to the UACS, as well as operating teams and service platforms, EHang has made comprehensive and sufficient preparation for the upcoming commercial operations after years of planning,” said Hu. “With EHang’s long-term accumulated advantages, we are confident and well positioned to embark on a new chapter of UAM operations with our partners.”

Hu indicated that favorable CAAC rulemaking and an array of partnership with city governments position the company well to integrate and operate its services when the time comes. 

The most recent of those partnerships is an agreement with the Bao’an District Government of Shenzhen to jointly develop urban air mobility use cases and systems, as well as routes for low-altitude demonstrations. The Bao’an District will provide support for EH216-S procurement, financial leasing, infrastructure construction, and low-altitude operations in Shenzhen.

The ultimate goal of the partnership is to turn the metropolis into a “national low-altitude economy development demonstration city.” EHang plans to establish its first Operation Demonstration Center there and to eventually launch aerial tourism and sightseeing services with its eVTOL. The partners hope to develop more than 10 routes by year’s end.

If all goes according to plan, EHang will beat Archer, Joby Aviation, Wisk Aero, and other U.S. rivals to market—albeit outside of the U.S. and European markets. While that’s only part of the battle, the company appears well positioned to capitalize on its early entry. 

According to SMG, it had just over 1,400 EH216-S orders as of June—that’s more than every AAM manufacturer besides Embraer’s Eve Air Mobility and the U.K.’s Vertical Aerospace, which is now contending with a prototype accident that threatens to further delay certification.

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On Tuesday, Mountain View, California-based Wisk Aero and Japan Airlines (JAL) announced a partnership that seeks to lay the groundwork for autonomous aviation. The companies are looking to certify and demonstrate Wisk’s electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft in Japan, working with that country’s government agencies to clear a flight path for air taxis nationwide.

The memorandum of understanding calls for collaboration between the two firms and the Japanese Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB), among other agencies. Together, they plan to research the certification, maintenance, overhaul, and airspace integration of Wisk’s Generation 6 eVTOL with the aim of a demonstration flight and, eventually, the launch of a commercial fleet.

The planned air taxi service is one of several proposed by Japanese agencies, companies, and their partners in recent years.

“Japan represents a large, densely populated market where air taxi services can provide real, positive impact for local communities,” said Catherine MacGowan, director of Wisk’s APAC region. “We look forward to further pursuing the potential introduction of our self-flying, all-electric air taxis in Japan and are encouraged by the growing interest within the broader APAC region for these types of services.”

Wisk’s electric-powered air taxi has a range of 90 sm, with reserves, and a cruise speed of around 120 knots. Across its 36-foot wingspan are 12 tilt-rotor propellers, mounted ahead of the wings, which allow it to take off vertically before transitioning to cruise flight.

However, Wisk, which is backed by the likes of Boeing and Kittyhawk, is not the only eVTOL firm with an agreement to introduce air taxis to Japanese airspace. In fact, JAL itself has another agreement with German eVTOL maker Volocopter targeting an air taxi launch later this year, pending certification of the firm’s VoloCity aircraft.

Meanwhile, competitor All Nippon Airways, which recently dethroned JAL as the country’s top airline, is working with U.S.-based Joby Aviation on its own air taxi service for the city of Osaka. Potential entries into that market also include Tokyo’s SkyDrive, which aims to launch a fleet of flying cars at the 2025 World Expo, and Osaka’s SkyTaxi, which just bought air taxis from Plana.

• READ MORE: Delta, Joby Aviation Partner to Launch Home-to-Airport eVTOL Shuttle

Across the Pacific, U.S. firms are also exploring passenger eVTOL services. Joby also has a partnership with Delta to launch air taxis starting with New York and Los Angeles, while American Airlines has a preorder for 250 flying taxis from Britain’s Vertical Aerospace. And just a month ago, United and Archer Aviation announced a partnership to create an air taxi route in Chicago.

It’s unclear when flying taxis in the U.S. and Japan will hit the market, but it’s likely to happen around the same time. That’s because the FAA and JCAB are cooperating on advanced air mobility certification and operations, sharing research and ideas to help get the industry off the ground.

Last week, the FAA released an updated blueprint for urban air mobility, describing a roadmap for air taxi integration near cities and airports. While the document is simply a guide and holds no legal weight, it should inform future policy and regulations around eVTOL aircraft—and it shows the FAA most definitely has air taxis on its radar.

Japan too is working with aviation stakeholders to develop its own regulatory framework for air taxis, aiming to introduce new rules by 2024 ahead of the Expo 2025 in Osaka and Kansai, where the government hopes to demonstrate an array of eVTOLs to the public.

2025 seems to be a good estimate of when air taxis will enter service—it’s the year JAL, Joby, SkyDrive, and others are targeting commercial launches, with additional companies only looking further out. 

But even then, chances are that pilots are not in immediate danger of losing their jobs—early eVTOLs will likely be expensive and therefore niche, limited to applications such as tourism and private business flights. Wisk is one of only a handful of eVTOL companies attempting to remove the pilot from the aircraft entirely, though others could follow over the next decade.

So, don’t expect air taxis to become the norm any time soon. But if you’re curious about how they’ll eventually be integrated into airspace, keep an eye on Wisk, JAL, and others who are pushing for a new network of self-flying aircraft.

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The Crosscutting Operations Strategy and Technical Assessment (COSTA) project is spearheaded by the Federal Aviation Administration and also has support from NASA.

Xwing’s partnership with the FAA’s COSTA program is a logical step in bringing his company’s vision for autonomy to life, Marc Piette, Xwing’s founder and CEO, told FLYING. That’s because outside of structured flying operations in and out of airports, operators also use aircraft for things like aerial firefighting, he said. Operators also have to deal with scenarios, such as pop-up TFRs, which means deploying all-around autonomy like Xwing plans to do, which is much more challenging than it seems.

“The challenge of integrating unmanned aircraft in the airspace is so much more than the automation itself,” Piette said. “It’s to ensure that we integrate seamlessly with all the participants of that airspace and follow the rules and can handle the various situations that get thrown at that unmanned aircraft.”

Fighting Wildfires

According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), more than 5,000 wildfires occur in California each year.

To help combat this, Xwing says it is essential that U.S. agencies “determine how to leverage new technologies and services to best address and manage natural disasters.” While existing dynamic operations feature manually-operated airplanes, helicopters, and various-sized drones to drop water or fire suppression in a small area, there is room for improvement.

NASA is working with the FAA and other disaster response agencies to figure out how to integrate unmanned aerial systems and deploy an Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic Management (UTM) to improve disaster response efficiency.

• READ MORE: NASA Awards Xwing Contract to Develop Autonomous Flight Safety Management System

The FAA’s UTM is a “traffic management ecosystem” for uncontrolled operations that is separate from but complementary to the FAA’s Air Traffic Management (ATM) system. 

According to the FAA, “UTM development will ultimately identify services, roles and responsibilities, information architecture, data exchange protocols, software functions, infrastructure, and performance requirements for enabling the management of low-altitude uncontrolled drone operations.”

Xwing will work with the FAA, the University of Alaska, and the Alaska Test Center for UAS Integration to evaluate information-centric approaches to improve traffic management in fire traffic areas (FTAs).

“This project will provide us with a more holistic view on how best to integrate large UAS in the existing National Airspace System,” Piette said. “Leveraging UAS, we have the potential to make everything from wildfire fighting to oceanic operations more efficient and safer. We believe the data that we collect from these operations will be essential to helping the FAA and NASA bring unmanned flights to more types of operations in the aviation industry.”

• READ MORE: Wildfires Leave Seattle Area Pilots Smoked Out

Checking the Boxes

The program, which is already underway, is set to run through April 2023. Xwing will run the flight operations for the project in Northern California, using Xwing’s autonomous flight technology on its Cessna Caravan aircraft. The flights will have a safety pilot on board.

Additional partners in the project include AirSpace Integration and ATA LLC, which will support flight data management, integrations with other FAA systems, and supporting operational flight trails.

Jesse Kallman, vice president of commercialization and strategy at Xwing, told FLYING that the data that Xwing collects will be used for various reasons. Those include analyzing the response times between air traffic control (ATC) and an autonomous aircraft, how UASs function when nearby other manned operations, and how remote operators use information-centric services to fly in challenging, high-stake operating environments.

• READ MORE: The Thrush 510G Switchback is a Potent Weapon Against Wildfires

“The process is pretty straightforward,” Kalman said. “We’re creating a series of trials, and we’re going to simulate different things. The FAA will control that local area, and we’ll figure out how you give commands to a very large unmanned system operating in and near other aircraft in that area.”

Kallman said the operation would also focus on figuring out how its autonomous technology manages things like pop-up TFRs, and unplanned route changes while interacting with existing air traffic in these sorts of environments.

Ultimately, this will give the FAA the data it needs to develop rules and procedures for its UTM framework. That could mean an evolution of the national airspace, communication procedures, or even right-of-way rules.

For Xwing, the project will help the company with its goals of integrating into the airspace.

“It’s a part of ensuring that we’re checking all the boxes as we are looking to certify this [autonomous flight] tech stack,” Piette said.

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As part of the deal, San-Francisco-based Xwing will share flight and ground operations data, algorithms, and pertinent autonomous subject matter expertise with NASA. In turn, NASA researchers will use the information to develop a safety management system (SMS) where regular pilotless flights can be integrated into the NAS. Additionally, NASA will study the risks associated with the fast-growing air mobility sectors that could soon feature electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOLS), autonomous and beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drones.

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Marc Piette, Xwing’s founder and CEO, explained to FLYING that sharing his company’s data with NASA was essential in accelerating the adoption of autonomous flight in the industry.

Though this isn’t Xwing’s and NASA’s first joint effort, Piette said. “We’re excited to work with NASA—it’s a good thing for the economy and country in general,” he added. “We’ll be able to increase safety, access to goods, and rural transportation in general.”

Fast-Tracking Innovation

Why would Xwing share its data with NASA? The overall program is part of NASA’s System-Wide Safety (SWS) Project that the agency launched in 2018 to grasp the impact these advanced aviation systems had on safety. 

“Emerging aviation relies heavily on advanced automation to ensure safety, and Xwing is working to bring novel, safe aviation opportunities to the American public,” said Misty Davies, NASA’s SWS project manager.

While NASA is predominantly thought of as a space agency, there are branches that focus on terrestrial aeronautics and work directly with the FAA, Jesse Kallman, vice-president of Commercialization & Strategy at Xwing, told FLYING. Because of its vast resources and ability to facilitate collaboration even across competing companies, NASA might be able to serve as the catalyst that speeds up the pace and commercial deployment of new aviation technologies at a large scale, Kallman added. 

From its findings, NASA can develop and deploy tools, technologies, and best practices to limit the risks these new systems will create as they blend into the existing airspace ecosystem. For Xwing, the benefit is that they get to leverage NASA’s technical capabilities to get its autonomous product to market.  

“Both the data we provide to NASA and data we receive will enable us each to advance our capabilities and build a more robust safety case for the technology,” Kallman said.

Xwing’s Fast-Growing Operation

In February 2021, Xwing demonstrated a fully automated gate-to-gate operation of a Cessna Caravan turboprop retrofitted with their technology. In a video shared on social media that captured the flight, the experimental Cessna 208B Grand Caravan exited its hangar at Buchanan Field (CCA) in Concord, California. It then taxied, departed, landed, and taxied back to the hangar entirely on its own. 

Fast-forward, the company is a Part 135 air carrier without the autonomous technology on its aircraft. Recently Xwing expanded its fleet to operate more than 400 weekly human-piloted cargo flights for UPS. The airplanes are retrofitted with sensors and tracking software to collect data. That’s the data being shared with NASA.

• READ MORE: Xwing Says The Future of Air Transportation Is Autonomous, But How Close Is That Future?

How NASA Will Use The Data

The NASA contract will last three years. The data Xwing provides is expected to help NASA understand the real-world challenges that the industry is facing, NASA’s Davis said.

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— NBC Bay Area (@nbcbayarea) August 10, 2022

“It’s really about the integration, and not so much the technology onboard the aircraft, but how they operate within a real-world operational setting with ground crew, ground control, and air traffic control in general,” Piette said. 

For instance, he said there are inefficiencies—like how repositioning flights are conducted. Showing a slide from the data they’ve collected from their cargo flights, the map shows that pilots rarely get to fly the most efficient routes. There are delays on the ground due to inefficient taxiing and the cargo loading process, which are all jobs that pilots and other airport personnel are required to do.

“All these things need to be handled gracefully once you move to a remote operator,” Piette said.

A significant feature of the contract is that NASA will use the data to identify risks and hazards related to runway detection, identification, and vision-based landing. Presently, only airports with ILS-Category 3 approaches have dependable autoland capabilities. Still, GPS-enabled standard RNAV approaches, which typically have a higher margin of error and, therefore, are less accurate than an ILS, are more predominant. So, if the data Xwing collects and shares with NASA helps them find a way to ensure similar levels of accuracy with GPS as with the ILS in any weather condition or terrain scenario, it would be a big unlock for their program.  

Timing is Crucial

Broadly, Xwing’s data, including emergency procedures, airspace communications, and infrastructure needs—such as on-the-ground support—will help NASA’s research to build new infrastructure standards, pilot/operator certification standards, and other best practices. The NASA Aeronautics Research Institute (NARI) might also work with Xwing to determine the supply chain challenges that make pilotless operations challenging.

The timing is crucial. Last month, a group of aviation business leaders testified before a U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Aviation Safety, Operations, and Innovation about the progress of introducing new technologies into the national airspace system. As the government looks to provide funding for the FAA to operate through its FAA Reauthorization Act in 2023, leaders from various sectors—pilots, government, policymakers, and manufacturers—continue to try to get on the same page about emerging technologies. 

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