Pilotless Twin-Engine Airplane Completes Flight Tests

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The sight of an otherwise normal-looking light twin flying around the patch with no one in the cockpit has just put a new spin on unmanned aerial systems. Aurora Flight Sciences of Virginia announced it completed a series of test flights of its Centaur Optionally Piloted Aircraft in June as part of a project with the Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research Alliance (NUAIR Alliance) of Rome, New York. The tests took place at the alliance’s headquarters at Griffiss International Airport and are the first of their kind at a federally designated UAS test site. The Centaur, a specially equipped Diamond DA-42, demonstrated taxi, takeoff and landing in a video released by the alliance.

The Centaur’s ability to fly with or without a pilot opens the twin to a broader range of uses, and converting the aircraft to “unmanned flight mode” can be done in under four hours with two people, according to Aurora Flight Sciences. Control equipment carried in the Diamond’s cargo space allows the aircraft to “effectively deploy itself” and fly beyond line of sight of ground operators, according to the company’s website. “This aircraft is coming into high demand from a range of customers, both military and commercial interests, in the U.S. and abroad,” Aurora chairman and CEO John S. Langford said in the company’s announcement.

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