News / FedEx feeder operator trials Reliable autonomous freighter

Photo: Reliable Robotics

The air cargo industry took another step toward unmanned freighter operations last month when Reliable Robotics operated a Cessna Caravan from FedEx on a 12-minute flight at Hollister Municipal Airport in north California.

The aircraft was monitored by a pilot about 50 miles away in Reliable’s command centre, who also handled radio calls but did not actively control it. All processes, from taxiing and take-off to landing were automated and performed by Reliable’s systems.

The company had performed three trial flights in July and August with pilots in the cockpit, only monitoring the flights, and back in 2019, Reliable had performed an automated flight with a much smaller Cessna 172.

The company applied to the FAA for certification of its technology in June, a process expected to take about two years.

According to Reliable, which operates a fleet of five Cessna Caravans for FedEx, its system is plane-agnostic, so it could be applied to other aircraft types.

It has also worked with ASL Aviation since last year, whose CEO Dave Andrew said: “ASL is always innovating to better serve customers, and our partnership with Reliable Robotics is aimed at enabling us to provide reliable, flexible and cost-efficient time-sensitive cargo delivery to smaller unserved areas.”

ASL Aviation Holdings operates a string of airlines in Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia that haul traffic for the express industry.

Reliable is one of two US carriers that have been operating Caravans equipped for autonomous flying for the express industry, said Stan Bernstein, president of the Regional Air Cargo Carriers Association. The other is Xwing, which performed its first automated flight of a Cessna Grand Caravan (with a pilot on board) last year. Like Reliable, Xwing has applied for certification of its flight system this year.

Mr Bernstein said cargo was going to be the opening arena for remote and autonomous flying. He added: “The first unmanned flight is not going to be a United Airlines B777 taking off from JFK to Tokyo. It will begin with a Caravan flying from Albuquerque to Santa Fe.”

But there is still a long road still, he noted, pointing out that many open questions need to be addressed, such as the pilot requirements (for instance, will they require medical certificates?) and the number of flights the pilots will be permitted to monitor. In the early stage, Reliable expects to see pilots monitor single flights.

For the carriers, the advance of autonomous flying opens huge opportunities. Even if pilots were restricted to monitoring one flight at a time, they could handle multiple flights a day from their control centre. This would also have a significant impact on the pilot shortage that has plagued the industry for years – above all, regional cargo carriers.