AI development expands into general aviation cockpits

An industry review counts more than a dozen companies building products that use artificial intelligence to program or process information gathered for aircraft cockpit software. Some of that work targets transport category and military aircraft, but a significant share is aimed at general aviation, and several products are already on sale.

FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford, a former chief executive of Republic Airways, has said the agency is open to using machine learning and AI to help the national air traffic control system maintain safe separation of aircraft, its primary job. In an interview with FLYING, Bedford said implementation is expected to be tested and deployed by the end of 2028, a timeline he described as near-term rather than distant.

Startups are developing cockpit technology for light aircraft as well. Airhart is working on avionics and flight control systems that include a simplified joystick controller, automated rudder controls, and a full fly-by-wire system. The company says the goal is to make light airplanes simpler to fly and faster to learn. Certification of those systems could change how general aviation cockpits are laid out and operated.