Testing unmanned passenger aircraft

In the UK, for the first time in the history of aviation the world has successfully tested unmanned passenger aircraft.

This information is derived from NewScientist from the ASTRAEA Automated Aerospace Systems Research Group.

A British Aerospace Jetstream plane has completed a flight from Warton in Lancashire to Inverness in Scotland at a distance of 800 km. The flight is made in stand-alone mode, receiving ground control signals.

The aircraft made the test flight. (Photo: pocket-lint.com)

Pilots on board only carry out control operations during take-off, altitude selection, landing and landing.

Test flights were made last month, but information has recently been revealed.

The control system tested on the aircraft is completely superior to the automatic flight mode used on conventional passenger aircraft. One of the most prominent features of the aircraft is its aerial obstruction detection mechanism and automatic bypass.

The test flight was conducted over airspace for civilian flights, so experts used virtual barricades. Lambert Dopping-Hepenstal, a specialist, said: 'Notices of the need to change the itinerary have been transmitted to the ground control station. Later, the pilot made an order to allow the plane to change its flight path.

British Aerospace Jetstream on the runway. (Photo: jetphotos.net)

At present, ASTRAEA is continuing to refine the obstacle detection system so that it can completely replace the pilot's eye and be able to accurately assess the flight environment.

The 19-seat British Aerospace Jetstream unmanned aerial vehicle is a propeller aircraft. Although it is not possible to make fully automated flights, the successful test has opened up the possibility of improving obstacle detection and collision avoidance systems to improve air safety.

Unmanned aerial vehicles are currently used primarily in the field of military for reconnaissance missions and other combat missions. Last April, the Israeli Air Force announced that in the next half century unmanned aircraft would be fully capable of carrying out missions carried by manned aircraft.