Sat, Sep 07, 2024
Cessna Caravan Equipped With Merlin Pilot
Merlin Labs announced its Merlin Pilot-equipped Cessna Caravan has begun flight testing in a first for the industry. Upon successful completion, its certified automation will extend across aircraft types and classes.
Merlin Pilot has already been successfully integrated on the Lockheed C-130J and the Boeing KC-135 in collaboration with the U.S. Air Force. The Caravan was upgraded to a glass cockpit with advanced avionics, new sensors, an autopilot, and an automated communication system. The automation systems are redundant similar to Part 25 air transport aircraft. Merlin conducted integration and functional flight checks in June and is currently performing advanced test flights which should lead to validation of the automatic flight control system.
Merlin CEO and founder, Matt George said, “Merlin emerged from a broad field of experimental demonstrators, and is now uniquely turning in a ‘final draft’ with the flight test campaign of the industry’s first certification-ready Cessna Caravan. What we’ve installed on this aircraft is not a prototype as this is no longer R&D. This is the actual certification configuration including design data, hundreds of drawings and substantiation reports, custom racks and structures, compliant wiring, and more. With this aircraft we are validating takeoff to touchdown advanced automation, which for pilots, represents a system that is truly ‘set it and forget it.’ At the end of the campaign with this certification configuration we will ultimately return this aircraft to service in the Supplemental Type Certificate configuration. This is part of our steady push towards our certification and commercialization goals.”
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