Delivering PPE and school supplies to the Navajo Nation — autonomously
Tags: Ppe, Delivery, Autonomous Vehicles, Aviation

Autonomous aviation will redefine how goods and people move around the world, especially for regional distances, typically too long to drive but too short to fly commercial aviation. It will help connect local communities like never before.

Over the past few months, we’ve performed close to a hundred flight tests. Given the COVID-19 pandemic raging nationwide and the aircraft’s capacity to carry significant payload, it seemed like a no-brainer to combine our flight test program with an actual cargo delivery of critical supplies to people in need. We just had to figure out where to source them from and whom to bring them to.

Native Americans have been hit especially hard by the pandemic. Due to a lack of infrastructure including lack of electricity and water, “sheltering-in-place” is virtually impossible. With more deaths per capita than any U.S. state, the coronavirus has particularly devastated the Navajo Nation in part due to various compounding issues such as unreliable road infrastructures, unregulated water sources, and a lack of access to basic medical care and critical supplies. As the school year started, children’s education became another victim of the pandemic. Without proper infrastructure, distance learning is impossible.

We decided to partner with two great organizations: Protect Native Elders, a volunteer-based inter-tribal organization that offers necessities to Native American communities and GetUsPPE.org, a doctor-led non-profit that provides PPE to frontline workers. They helped us, along with our own contacts source donated supplies.

Through this initiative, 2,000 PPE gowns and masks are being deployed to Indian Health Service centers with the aim of providing hundreds of frontline workers with the supplies needed to safely perform their job duties.

In addition, 50 Osmo devices and accompanying Amazon Fire Tablets donated by Osmo are going to students at local schools who are faced with learning in an entirely new socially-distant classroom environment. What’s more, many kids are using these devices for the first time having never had access to tablets and learning apps before today.

The Flight

We loaded the airplane with over 700 lbs of cargo. With full tanks to cover the 730-miles distance plus reserve, and 3 team members, for a total of 8,727 lbs, the aircraft was close to its Maximum Take Off Weight (MTOW).

Airplane is loaded — Ready for departure

Optimizing our flight plan for wind and given that the aircraft does not have oxygen (problem that will not be relevant once all humans are on the ground), we flew South-East to go around the High Sierras.

Our flight path (KCCR to KINS)

Departure

We prepared for an early departure, in order to avoid potential thunderstorms at the destination. We engaged Xwing’s AutoFlight system on Runway 19R before takeoff. It deployed the flaps to 20 degrees, then progressively ramped up the throttle to reach the maximum torque allowable. The brakes were then released and the aircraft quickly accelerated, accurately tracking the runway centerline. Once airborne, the aircraft smoothly proceeded along the flight plan. Our system stayed engaged the whole trip until the end of roll-out on runway 29 at Winslow Regional Airport. We covered the 730 miles in 4 hours and 6 minutes — a new record for Xwing.

N101XW being tugged out

The smoke from the wildfires filling in the Sierra valleys

Despite a challenging high altitude and “never seen before” runway (see previous post about high density altitude landings), the aircraft performed a successfully autoland at Winslow airport. Upon touchdown, the aircraft tracked the runway centerline and decelerated. After a little over 4 hours, our safety pilot disengaged the system and took back manual control of the aircraft.

Approach path into KINS

Automatic Landing at Winslow Regional Airport

On the ground, Bleu Adams and her team from Protect the Native Elders were waiting for us. We unloaded the payload onto two pickup trucks and, after spending a bit of time getting to know each-other, they were on their way!

“It takes a village to make a change in the world; it takes a community to uplift those in need. Many indigenous communities have been overlooked for decades as it relates to basic needs such as food, water, health, and infrastructure. We applaud technology innovators such as Xwing for seeking ways to help address these disparities and applying their technology in support of others. Solving such economic and social challenges requires all of us to unite and work together for the betterment of others” — Bleu Adams, Navajo activist, entrepreneur, and co-founder of Protect Native Elders.

Unloading the airplane in Winslow, Az.

Bleu Adams (center left) with the Xwing crew

While this delivery may be a drop in the bucket in terms of overall quantity delivered, it demonstrated the ability of autonomous aviation to bring relief to hard-to-reach communities. We look forward to a future where this technology can help support underserved communities better.

We’d like to thank the organizations on the ground for their assistance in making this happen.

Watch NBC’s coverage of how underfunded Native American communities struggle with remote learning.

Watch NBC’s coverage of how autonomous aviation can help revive remote and isolated communities.