Cargo Chat: Xwing sets sights on 100% autonomous cargo deliveries

San Francisco-based aviation company Xwing , an innovator of autonomous aircraft, is on a mission to incorporate advanced technology within regional air cargo operations with the goal of achieving 100% autonomous deliveries. Xwing’s execution of these plans may soon be realized. The company on Thursday announced its submission of its Project Specific Certification Plan (PSCP) for its Superpilot technology to the Federal Aviation Administration becoming the first standard category large unmanned aerial system the Federal Aviation Administration approved for official project designation. With this certification, Xwing is one step closer to approval of delivering completely autonomous air cargo deliveries. Xwing partnered with UPS in 2022 to earn certification as an airline and track data for its Superpilot program, a remote way of operating flights. So far, Xwing has flown 12 million pounds of cargo throughout the United States for UPS in an effort to be sustainable, efficient and accessible. Using Cessna 208B Grand Caravan aircraft, it flies air cargo under its Part 135 certificate and two Part 145 repair stations out of Dallas and Lansing, Mich. Founded in 2016 by Marc Piette , the company has raised $57 million and works with the FAA for certification. [caption id="attachment_57135444" align="alignright" width="200"] Xwing founder Marc Piette (Courtesy: Xwing)[/caption] In 2022, Xwing acquired its second airline, Texas-based Martinaire, to help earn its certification to develop cargo aircraft technology. With this purchase, Xwing acquired 35 Cessna 208B aircraft. Xwing purchased Seattle-based Airpac in 2021. Additionally, the company is working with NASA to provide data on emergency procedures, infrastructure needs and communications for NASA’s research team in advanced air mobility, per Cargo Facts. In exchange for providing this data, Xwing gained access to NASA’s technologies such as autoland and traffic detection. Xwing next plans include working on a supplemental type certificate (STC) with the installation of sensor pods which provide data for the Cessna208B. This data will help the company develop automation of the Cessna aircraft platform. Testing using the two installed censors began in January and Xwing hopes to have its STC by the middle of this year. Air Cargo Next discussed Xwing’s current technology and plans with Piette. What follows is an edited version of the conversation. Air Cargo Next : What is Xwing trying to accomplish in the air cargo industry? Marc Piette: Autonomy will make regional air cargo safer and more cost effective. Express logistics is the ideal beachhead for autonomous flight. The market segment is most impacted by pilot shortage. [There is] high turnover and difficulty filling pilot roles in cargo and short-regional routes since these are usually a path to higher-paying commercial pilot jobs. Pilot demand outstrips supply, so automation will be a critical step in rapidly growing the next-day delivery supply chain. [caption id="attachment_57135442" align="alignleft" width="365"] Xwing Cessna 208B aircraft (Courtesy: Xwing)[/caption] Xwing’s remote operations will open aviation roles to a more diverse workforce; widespread use of Cessna Caravans, Xwing’s initial target platform; automation of all phases of flight, including taxi, take-off and landing will improve overall safety. ACN : What kind of autonomous technology are you currently working on? MP: Xwing’s Superpilot is a fully autonomous gate-to-gate flight technology, allowing large aircraft to leave the gate, taxi, take off, land and return to the gate entirely on their own. Superpilot utilizes a combination of AI and machine learning technologies, allowing for easy integration with any existing aircraft. Xwing recently launched a key component of the Superpilot autonomy stack, which uses computer vision to act as a last safety layer for landing in harsh weather conditions without having to rely on external systems such as GPS and instrument landing systems. ACN : Were the most recent flights with UPS operated 100% autonomously? MP: Not yet. Currently, our Xwing Air commercial operations with UPS are piloted flights. We are working in parallel to certify our autonomous flight system. The experience from our Part 135 operations provides invaluable insight to the teams developing the Superpilot system, and once certified, we will be able to scale autonomous cargo operations within Xwing Air. ACN: What costs are associated with automated cargo deliveries? MP : Autonomy can help improve the return on investment across cargo operation. Greater network flexibility — untethering the pilot and the physical aircraft allows for complete routing flexibility based on real-time demand, leads to better customer service for cargo carriers [and] increased utilization. With no crew availability constraints or pilot rest requirements, new routes can be created, and existing routes can be flown more frequently. [caption id="attachment_57135443" align="alignright" width="362"] (Courtesy: Xwing)[/caption] With Xwing’s remote operations model, remote supervisors will be able to oversee multiple routes on the same day, saving on direct pilot costs. Automated route and flight optimization also saves on fuel consumption and less miles flown (cutting maintenance and fuel costs). There’s no need for dead legs to reposition planes for pilot locations. ACN: Is this technology in use? MP: Yes, we’ve been flying autonomously since 2021 (here’s a demo ). Before we are fully certified, we must have a safety pilot onboard. However, the safety pilot, though required by FAA, does not touch the controls or fly the plane in any way when Superpilot is engaged.

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