Merlin, the aviation technology company developing the world’s most capable pilot to advance the future of automated Flight, has confirmed it successfully completed 25 test flights in Alaska following a $1 million contract with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to demonstrate a highly-automated flight control system in conjunction with a safety pilot.
In partnership with the FAA-designated University of Alaska Fairbanks UAS Test Site and Everts Air Cargo, the test flights reached rural areas using crewed aircraft augmented with its integrated hardware and software solution, the Merlin Pilot.
All routes originated from Fairbanks and flew to Fort Yukon, Galena, Huslia, Tanana and Prudhoe Bay. Over sixty hours of systems-on, autonomous flight time were successfully completed with the Merlin Pilot allowing for extensive data collection in a real-world environment with complex terrain and inclement weather. This data is essential to maturing Merlin’s in-flight capabilities as well as progressing autonomy for the aviation industry, making skies safer and more accessible for the future. These test flights also make Merlin the first autonomous system to be integrated into the NAS.
