Merlin Advances Toward Autonomous Flight Tech STC with Simulator

The manufacturer says the technology is designed to accelerate its path to supplemental type certification with regulators in the U.S. and New Zealand.

Jack Daleo

Wednesday, April 10, 2024 at 04:18 PM ET

Verified

Merlin’s Certification System Bench will allow it to perform ground tests of its autonomous flight system from its Boston headquarters. [Courtesy: Merlin Labs]

Key Takeaways:

Merlin Labs has completed its Certification System Bench, a flight test simulator designed to expedite the process of obtaining a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) for its Merlin Pilot autonomous flight system.
The high-fidelity simulator allows for extensive, accredited ground testing of its certifiable software and hardware components from headquarters, significantly reducing the need for actual flight tests and accelerating regulatory approval.
Merlin Pilot aims to supplement pilot workloads to address the pilot shortage, seeking STC approval from New Zealand's CAA with concurrent FAA validation, as part of a phased approach to introducing autonomous capabilities into aircraft.

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Autonomous flight systems provider Merlin Labs is stepping up its quest for a supplemental type certificate (STC).

The company on Wednesday announced it completed the build of its Certification System Bench, a flight test simulator designed to speed its path to an STC. The simulator contains the company’s certifiable software and hardware components and is located at its Boston headquarters.