Joby autonomous Caravan completes coast-to-coast US flight

Joby Aviation says a modified Cessna Caravan fitted with its autonomous flight system has flown about 3,200 miles across the United States without the safety pilot on board touching the controls.

The eastbound trip began at Buchanan Field Airport in Concord, California, and ended at Dare County Regional Airport on North Carolina's Outer Banks. Taxiing, takeoffs, navigation and landings were all handled by the aircraft itself, according to the company.

A safety pilot was aboard the whole time. Joby said the flight was supervised remotely from its autonomy headquarters in California and from Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina, at distances of as much as 2,323 miles.

Stops included Phoenix, Fort Worth in Texas, and Shaw Air Force Base. At Phoenix Deer Valley Airport, the aircraft changed its routing to avoid severe weather and thunderstorms, according to Joby.

Joby obtained the autonomy technology through its 2024 acquisition of Xwing. The system has now logged more than 400 flights and 800 automated flight hours in controlled and uncontrolled airspace, the company says.

A westbound return leg is planned, with stops in Raleigh, North Carolina; Fredericksburg, Virginia; Louisville, Kentucky; Wichita, Kansas; Oklahoma City; Salt Lake City; and Portland, Oregon.

Joby founder and CEO JoeBen Bevirt said in a company release that the trip offered a look at a new era of aviation, and that autonomy has a role in connecting remote communities, delivering critical supplies, responding to disasters, supporting military operations and keeping pilots out of harm's way.