WionDrive News Desk 
One company working to make OPAs more commonplace is Boeing’s Aurora Flight Sciences. Known for their experimental aircraft work (including several DARPA projects), Aurora has been developing an OPA called the Centaur, which is a modified Diamond DA42 aircraft.
We often think about aircraft in binary terms: either piloted or drones. However, there is another option – the optionally piloted aircraft (OPA). OPAs are designed to accommodate humans on board who can take control if needed, but they can also be operated remotely like drones. While not many OPAs exist currently, research into them is accelerating, and we’re likely to see more of them in the skies in the future.
The DA42 is a twin-engine plane that can normally carry four people at speeds up to 227 mph (365 kph) for distances of around 1,400 miles (2,250 km). Aurora’s version has been purpose-designed as a testbed for various technologies, including those for uncrewed aircraft operation, and as a trainer for student pilots to learn how to operate uncrewed planes.
Recently, Aurora announced it conducted a test flight with the Centaur in the National Airspace System (NAS). This was possible because a backup pilot was on board while the plane was being controlled from a ground station as it flew from Manassas, Virginia, to the Potomac River.
The goal was to test several capabilities, including data link quality in bad weather at altitudes ranging from 4,500 to 7,500 feet (1,370 to 2,280 meters). During the flight, two people on the ground controlled the plane, while a third person was in the cockpit ready to take over if needed. The Centaur’s mission was to capture images using an electro-optical/infrared camera and send them back to the control station. It also carried a maritime surveillance radar.
With successful test flights conducted with a pilot on board and ground controllers in the NAS, Aurora plans to use the Centaur to test various technologies by flying it from airports instead of remote locations.
The technologies being developed during these flights have potential applications in areas such as defense, intelligence, law enforcement, and environmental monitoring.
