Merlin, a Boston-based company developing “drop-in” autonomy kits for legacy fixed-wing aircraft, has received a $1 million contract from the FAA to demonstrate its autonomous flight control technology in the National Airspace System. Flight trials will take place over Alaska starting in the second quarter of 2023.
“The tests will be flown autonomously from takeoff to touchdown by the Merlin Pilot, with a human safety pilot on board to monitor the system,” Merlin co-founder and CEO Matthew George told FutureFlight. “Our safety pilots are all professional test pilots who are helping guide the transfer of the technology to [air]line pilots as our certification program matures.”
In partnership with Alaskan cargo carrier Everts Air Cargo, and in close collaboration with the FAA, Merlin will conduct flight trials along three cargo routes in Alaska using the Merlin Pilot autonomous flight control system. The routes will originate from an FAA-designated uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) test site at the University of Fairbanks and will travel to five destinations across Alaska: Fort Yukon, Galena, Prudhoe Bay, Huslia, and Tanana.
According to Merlin, these rural destinations are underserved by existing air cargo operations and could benefit from having better access to supplies. The area's challenging geography also poses inherent safety risks for conventionally piloted aircraft, which Merlin says it can alleviate with its highly automated Merlin Pilot.
“Alaska’s terrain and inclement weather can challenge the most experienced pilots,” said Cathy Cahill, director of the Alaska Center for UAS Integration. “And yet remote communities rely on air cargo deliveries for vital supplies such as milk, mail, and medicine. Working with Merlin on these flight trials benefits our residents and provides data with each flight that will create not only a safer airspace in Alaska but technology that is applicable worldwide.”
“This program will help thousands of our state’s remote residents to acquire supplies necessary to sustain life," Cahill added, "and it’s exciting that the advent of new technologies can drive greater equity and access across our communities.”
The goal of Merlin’s drop-in autonomy kits is to ease the ongoing pilot shortage while also making aviation safer and more efficient. Other autonomous flight start-ups like Xwing, Reliable Robotics, and Daedalean are working on similar self-piloting aircraft technologies. Merlin aims to convert multiple types of legacy fixed-wing aircraft to fully autonomous operations under FAA supplemental type certificates.
Last summer, Merlin (which formerly operated under the name Merlin Labs) announced that it had raised $105 million in its latest Series B funding round, bringing its total funding to $130 million. At the same time, the company announced that it had secured a partnership with the U.S. Air Force to integrate the Merlin Pilot into the C-130J Super Hercules, the most-used cargo carrier in the Air Force’s fleet. Other customers include cargo carrier Ameriflight, which aims to convert its fleet of Cessna 208B Caravan aircraft, and Virginia-based special-missions operator Dynamic Aviation, which will convert up to 55 Textron King Air twin turboprops.
Merlin has already conducted hundreds of flight tests at its test facility in Mojave, California, using five aircraft equipped with the Merlin Pilot: two canards (a Rutan Long-EZ and a Cozy Mark IV), a King Air A90, a DHC-6 Twin Otter, and a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan. So far, all of those flight tests have been performed with a safety pilot on board. Eventually, the company hopes its autonomous flight technology will eliminate the need for any pilots on board small aircraft while allowing larger commercial airplanes to fly with reduced crew size.
“These initial flight trials are vital to maturing our in-flight capabilities, and it’s rewarding that this work will also serve a material need in the communities of Alaska,” George said in a written statement. “Alongside the FAA and our operating partner Everts Air Cargo, we’re thrilled that the Merlin Pilot will soon be learning in a real-world, complex environment.”
