Elodie Collins
Istari Digital’s Flyer One, a modified version of Lockheed Martin Skunk Works’ X-56A, is on track to become the first digitally certified aircraft in the world.
Will Roper, founder and CEO of Istari Digital and a Wash100 winner, said in a press release issued Monday that the X-plane recently passed a design review, a major step toward digital flight release.
Flyer One, named after the experimental aircraft developed by the Wright Brothers, aims to create a digital twin of an aircraft before a physical prototype.
The approach to technology development is not novel. Other industries such as Formula 1 racing already employ Industry 4.0 practices to accelerate the delivery of new capabilities.
According to former Google CEO and current Istari Digital investor Eric Schmidt, adopting software practices to develop hardware can bridge the gap between coding environments and existing engineering tools.
Flyer One needs to meet the requirements of the U.S. Air Force’s Military Flight Release, which is typically applied for physical aircraft.
Once certified, the aircraft-on-a-chip will be constructed and tested at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
