Wisk drone integration trial
Airways worked with Wisk Aero in a world-leading trial to safely integrate an uncrewed aircraft into unsegregated controlled airspace, flying among regular crewed aircraft.
In a partnership led by Wisk – developer of a self-flying, all-electric air taxi – we established a safe integration process for drone flights beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) in unsegregated controlled airspace.
The trial in late 2023 was overseen by the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand (CAA) under the New Zealand Government’s Airspace Integration Trials programme.
To succeed, the global advanced air mobility (AAM) sector must evolve a regulatory regime to allow crewed and uncrewed aircraft to share the airspace safely. Airways developed innovative operational concepts, processes, procedures and training to enable air traffic controllers to safely manage the uncrewed aircraft.
Boeing subsidiary Wisk used a commercial, fixed-wing drone from Insitu Pacific as a surrogate for its prototype air taxi, with the remote drone pilots based at the Tāwhaki National Aerospace Centre at Kaitorete, near Christchurch.
Under instructions from approach controllers at our Christchurch surveillance centre, the drone made seven successful trial flights over coastal Canterbury between 17 November and 1 December 2023.
It shared a defined area of Class C controlled airspace, unsegregated, with crewed aircraft. This contrasts with the current standard procedure, under which controllers segregate the airspace around an uncrewed aircraft, restricting access for any other aircraft.
The drone was tracked by AirShare, the uncrewed traffic management (UTM) system developed by Airways International, the commercial arm of Airways. This provided valuable information to the trial partners.
This groundbreaking trial demonstrated to the world that a drone flying beyond the remote pilot’s line of sight can operate safely alongside crewed aircraft in unsegregated controlled airspace. It is an important step forward in the evolution of uncrewed traffic management.
For the air traffic management of the trial, Airways won the Integration of Drones/Advanced Air Mobility Award at the global Air Traffic Management Awards 2023.
Video: courtesy of Wisk Aero