Joby Aviation has announced that an aircraft equipped with its autonomy technology has completed the first-ever autonomous flight across the United States. “The aircraft flew 3,199 miles with zero control inputs from its onboard safety pilot, concluding the eastbound leg of its month-long tour in North Carolina’s Outer Banks, near the site of the Wright brothers’ first powered flight,” said the company on a September 18 press release.
The aircraft, a converted Cessna Caravan, performed autonomous taxiing, takeoffs, route navigation, and landings under remote supervision from Joby’s Autonomy Headquarters in California and Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina, up to 2,323 miles away, said the company.
“By integrating an autonomous system onto an already-certified airframe, Joby offers a scalable path to autonomous air logistics,” said Joby. “During the cross-country journey, the aircraft proved its ability to seamlessly integrate into high-density environments like Phoenix Deer Valley, one of the nation’s busiest general aviation airports, while rerouting around severe weather and thunderstorms in real time without prior airport familiarity.”
As part of Joby’s 2026 Electric Skies tour, the eastbound leg featured flight demonstrations, logistics showcases, and key operational milestones across the following stops:
- Concord, CA (KCCR): Departed from Buchanan Field Airport, launching the 3,199-mile transcontinental autonomous flight route. Phoenix, AZ (KDVT): Demonstrated dual-use autonomy technologies for defence, first responders, and cargo applications, as part of Arizona’s role in the uFLY coalition.
- Fort Worth, TX (KAFW): Showcased autonomous freight potential at Alliance Airport, a major U.S. industrial logistics hub. The stop coincided with Joby’s first air taxi eIPP flight within the White House-backed program, hosted alongside U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Texas Senator Ted Cruz.
- Shaw Air Force Base, SC (KSSC): Conducted a capability demonstration of representative military flight operations and tactical defense readiness.
- Outer Banks, NC (KMQI): Marked the transcontinental milestone with an autonomous landing at Dare County Regional Airport.
Following its transcontinental arrival, the J208 flew a historic low pass near the First Flight Monument at Kitty Hawk, honoring the site where Orville and Wilbur Wright ushered in the age of powered flight in 1903. The aircraft then landed at Dare County Regional Airport (KMQI), demonstrating how flexible, lower-cost autonomous flights can expand point-to-point air logistics and deliver critical medical supplies and emergency freight to remote, underserved communities.
In North Carolina, flights supported NCDOT’s eLIFT-NC initiative for statewide healthcare logistics, while western flights contributed to UDOT’s multi-state uFLY coalition to evaluate high-altitude, extreme-environment airspace integration for the FAA.
The aircraft will now begin its return westbound journey, including stops in Raleigh (KRDU), Fredericksburg/Washington, D.C. (KRMN), Louisville (KSDF), Wichita (KICT), Oklahoma City (KOKC), Salt Lake City (KSLC), and Portland (KPDX).
For more information
https://www.jobyaviation.com/news/joby-completes-first-ever-fully-autonomous-flight-across-the-united-states
(Image: Joby Aviation)