Hanneke Weitering is a writer and editor with AIN covering advanced air mobility and new flight technologies. She became an aviation journalist and joined the AIN team in the summer of 2022 after reporting on spaceflight and astronomy for six years at Space.com. After earning a bachelor’s degree in physics from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, she moved to New York City to pursue a master’s degree in science, health, and environmental reporting at New York University&#039;s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute. After spending several years in the Pacific Northwest, she has returned to the Knoxville area.

Science & Technology Editor

Hanneke Weitering

Robinson Unmanned’s R44 Airtruck flew a series of offshore cargo demonstrations at Acadiana Regional Airport (KARA) in New Iberia, Louisiana, on September 2 and 3, making repeated approaches to a platform rigged to simulate an offshore deck.
Aviation Academy of Louisiana, the state’s only authorized Robinson dealer and service center, conducted the flights, with offshore helicopter operator PHI Aviation and invited industry and government observers attending. Robinson said the flights covered cargo loading and unloading, elevated deck landings, precision positioning, and airspace integration while operating with a two-person crew: one remote pilot and one ground-based visual observer.
Torrance, California-based Robinson builds the Airtruck on its piloted R44 rotorcraft, adapting it for remote operation with the RPX flight system from Rotor Technologies of Nashua, New Hampshire. The Airtruck has a 1,002-pound useful load, 63 cubic feet of internal volume, a cruise speed of 109 knots, and a 14,000-foot maximum operating altitude. It is currently flying in the experimental category in the U.S., and Robinson says the aircraft has commercial approval in Brazil.
Robinson&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2026-03-10/unmanned-could-be-biggest-robinson-business-unit">unveiled the Robinson Unmanned business unit</a> at Verticon in March, when president and CEO David Smith laid out an “era of both,” pairing crewed and uncrewed aircraft. “This is the ‘era of both’ in practice: the same airframe, the same parts, and the same people supporting manned or unmanned missions,” he said.

News and issues relating to civil and military unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) of all kinds and sizes, including those used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), combat (unmanned combat air vehicles, or UCAVs), law enforcement, research and other applications. Of particular focus is the FAA's planned integration of UAS into the U.S. national airspace system.

Robinson Unmanned R44 Airtruck Flies Offshore Cargo Demos

Remotely piloted R44 helicopter landed on an offshore-style deck at a Louisiana airport

Robinson Unmanned’s R44 Airtruck flew a series of offshore cargo demonstrations at Acadiana Regional Airport in New Iberia, Louisiana, on September 2 and 3.

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

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Essential news and analysis on the defense aerospace business. Your trusted source for new and ongoing programs and requirements in military aircraft (manned and unmanned), engines, avionics, weapons and associated systems, including ground-based air defense.

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In this article

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