Airbus carries out first fully automatic vision-based take-off

Airbus Demonstrates First Fully Automatic Vision Based Take Off
Airbus Demonstrates First Fully Automatic Vision Based Take Off

European Airframer Airbus has today successfully carried the first fully automatic vision-based take-off using an Airbus A350 test aircraft.

The flight took off at around 10:15 local time and was operated by two pilots, two flight test engineers and a test flight engineer who carried out 8 successful take-offs.

The flight forms part of AirbusAutonomous Taxi, Take-Off & Landing (ATTOL) project which is being used by Airbus to understand the effects of autonomy on aircraft.

Airbus A350 ATTOL take-off (Image: Airbus/Master Films)

“The aircraft performed as expected during these milestone tests. While completing alignment on the runway, waiting for clearance from air traffic control, we engaged the auto-pilot,” said Airbus Test Pilot Captain Yann Beaufils. “We moved the throttle levers to the take-off setting and we monitored the aircraft.  It started to move and accelerate automatically maintaining the runway centre line, at the exact rotation speed as entered in the system. The nose of the aircraft began to lift up automatically to take the expected take-off pitch value and a few seconds later we were airborne.”

Watch the ATTOL flight

Airbus says that its mission is not to move ahead with autonomy as a target in itself, but instead use these flights and experiments to ‘explore autonomous technologies alongside other innovations in areas such as materials, electrification and connectivity

About Nick Harding 2043 Articles
Nick is the senior reporter and editor at UK Aviation News as well as working freelance elsewhere. He has his finger firmly on the pulse on Aviation, not only in the UK but worldwide. Nick has been asked to speak in a professional capacity on LBC, Heart and other broadcast networks.