Joby says converted Caravan flew coast to coast autonomously

Joby Aviation said a converted Cessna 208 Grand Caravan completed what the company described as the first fully autonomous coast-to-coast flight across the United States. The aircraft, which Joby calls J208, covered close to 3,200 miles on a route from California to North Carolina that began earlier in September.

According to the company, an onboard human safety pilot made zero control inputs during the multi-leg mission. The aircraft handled taxi, takeoff, cruise, route navigation, and landing on its own, with those functions observed and supervised remotely from Joby's autonomy headquarters in California and from Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina.

At one point, more than 2,300 miles separated the aircraft from its supervisors. Joby said the Caravan rerouted around storms and other severe weather without prior airport familiarity.

The trip ended with a low pass of Bodie Island Lighthouse near Kitty Hawk, which the company said honoured the Wright brothers' first powered flight. The eastbound journey included stops in four states, and a return trip to California visiting seven states is planned.

Joby has mostly worked on a piloted eVTOL air taxi and in recent years began exploring autonomy. The J208 combines the single-engine turboprop's airframe with autonomous systems initially developed by Xwing and later acquired by Joby. JoeBen Bevirt, the company's founder and CEO, said autonomy has a role in connecting remote communities, delivering supplies, responding to disasters, supporting military operations, and keeping pilots out of harm's way.