Joby Completes First Autonomous Flight Across US

Joby Aviation completed the first-ever autonomous flight across the United States using an aircraft equipped with its autonomy technology.

Manned with only an onboard safety pilot, the aircraft navigated 3,199 miles with no human control inputs as it finished its eastbound leg of a monthlong tour in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, Joby announced on Sept. 18. 

The aircraft’s first cross-country tour ended, coincidentally, near the Kitty Hawk monument, the site of the Wright brothers’ first powered flight in 1903.

The converted Cessna Caravan was able to take off, navigate, land, and taxi under remote supervision from Joby’s Santa Cruz, California, headquarters and Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina, some 2,323 miles away.

“This journey across America offers a glimpse into a new era of aviation,” Joby Aviation founder and CEO JoeBen Vevirt said in the announcement.

“Autonomy has an important role to play in the future of flight, allowing us to connect remote communities, deliver critical supplies, respond faster to disasters, support military operations and keep pilots out of harm’s way.”

The aviation firm’s Electric Skies Tour originated in Concord, California, departing from Buchanan Field Airport bound for Phoenix. From there, the self-guided aircraft traveled to Fort Worth, Texas, through Shaw Air Base in South Carolina to its destination in the Outer Banks, landing at Dare County Regional Airport.

“During the cross-country journey, the aircraft proved its ability to seamlessly integrate into high-density environments like Phoenix Deer Valley, one of the nation’s busiest general aviation ports,” the announcement noted. 

The Joby plane was also able to remotely reroute around severe weather conditions in real time.

According to the report, the aircraft will begin its return westbound journey with stops including Raleigh, North Carolina; Washington; Louisville, Kentucky; Wichita, Kansas; Oklahoma City; Salt Lake City; and Portland, Oregon.

In a March blog, Robert Wilkos, co-founder of VIPJets.com, a private jet charter firm headquartered in Houston, expressed some concerns about the possibility of future pilotless flights.

Wilkos noted that moving accountability from “crew in cockpit” to “system plus remote supervision” shifts the liability and affects insurance. As a result, he believes that total “pilotless” aircraft for passenger business jets will remain a long-term objective.

He said single-pilot operations are a better choice since they incorporate human decision-making along with technology. 

“If regulators and stakeholders demand extremely high evidence for airlines to reduce crew, you should assume the evidence bar will be high for passenger-carrying business aviation too, even if the equipment is technically capable,” he said in the blog.

“Regulators are still showing caution about removing human redundancy, and industry resistance is visible.”

Wilkos also noted the importance of certifications for such flights and believes programs such as Joby have highlighted that certification process.

“Joby reported progress toward Type Inspection Authorization (TIA) flight testing and noted FAA acceptance of a large portion of its certification test plans, describing TIA as a key step toward certification flight testing.”

Federal Aviation Administration described TIA as a formal phase where aviation regulators, such as the FAA, review tests and flight operations to ensure safety standards.

Founded in 2009, Joby has completed more than 400 flights and 800 automated flight hours in both controlled and uncontrolled airspace. The aircraft has also been used in U.S. military exercises.