Avionics
Reliable Robotics Flies Caravan Without a Pilot on Board
The start-up has completed its first completely uncrewed flight in California
Reliable Robotics' Cessna Caravan aircraft flies with no pilot onboard
Reliable Robotics has flown a Cessna Caravan aircraft with no pilot onboard during a test flight from Hollister Municipal Airport in California.

Reliable Robotics has flown a small cargo airplane with no humans on board for the first time, marking a significant milestone for autonomous aviation. The uncrewed flight test, which Reliable Robotics announced on December 6, took place at Hollister Municipal Airport in California on the morning of November 21. 

The company’s modified Cessna 208B Caravan safely executed a 12-minute test flight—including taxi, takeoff, and landing—without any human intervention, although the aircraft was monitored by a remote pilot at a control station about 50 miles (80 kilometers) from the airport in Mountain View. A 360-degree camera inside the cockpit recorded a video of the flight, which Reliable Robotics released on YouTube.