Merlin Labs NZ chief executive Shaun Johnson has returned to his Kerikeri roots to set up a world-leading business developing autonomous aircraft — in other words, robot planes. Photo / Peter de Graaf
Merlin Labs NZ chief executive Shaun Johnson has returned to his Kerikeri roots to set up a world-leading business developing autonomous aircraft — in other words, robot planes. Photo / Peter de Graaf
A dream of opening up career opportunities for Northland youth that didn’t exist when he left school has inspired a Kerikeri man to come home and set up a world-leading business developing robot planes.
Merlin Labs NZ, the first overseas subsidiary of US aviation technology firm Merlin Labs, opened itsbrand-new base next to Bay of Islands Airport in Kerikeri on Friday.
Shaun Johnson, who joined the Air Force straight out of seventh form at Kerikeri High School, has returned to his old hometown to lead the ground-breaking venture.
It would start small as an air freight operation using conventional human-piloted planes and gradually transition to autonomous aircraft which were able to take off, fly and land by themselves.
In the future the same technology could be applied to reduce crews on bigger planes, he said.
In Kerikeri, the firm’s first steps would be to integrate its software and hardware into a fleet of Cessna Caravan planes and to work with New Zealand’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to certify its systems and make them air-legal.
Johnson said the firm would start flying freight in June with an unmodified aircraft between Northland, Auckland and Palmerston North.
“We want to demonstrate to the regulator and the public that we’re a capable and reliable freight company before we start introducing new technology. And for ourselves, it’s to get our pilots familiar with the routes we’re going to fly and the avionics in the aircraft because that doesn’t change. We’ll do that for a good year and then start to add our advanced technology as it’s certified,” he said.
At the same time, the company would be carrying out compliance flight testing with the CAA.
The goal was to start automated takeoff-to-touchdown flights from the start of 2025, albeit with a human pilot as a backup to make sure everything was functioning as it was supposed to.
Ngāti Rēhia’s Kipa Munro offers a blessing while Merlin Labs NZ chief executive Shaun Johnson and Merlin Labs chief of staff Dan Rickert place their hands on the company’s soon-to-be autonomous aircraft. Photo / Peter de Graaf
There was no timeline as yet for flying without a human pilot on board.
“It would be naive to think that all the questions have been answered yet,” he said.
“The immediate goals for us are proving our technology in the Caravan, then adding some of those features — which actually are enhancements to safety — to bigger aircraft and growing a deeper understanding of what it means to go from two crew to one and then eventually from one to zero. So New Zealand will become a real test bed for what we do in the future.”
Merlin wasn’t the only company developing robot planes but its system was unique in that it could not only take off, join an instrument-flight-rules route and land at the other end, it could also respond to voice commands from air traffic control.
Johnson said he didn’t choose Kerikeri only because it was where he grew up.
“Honestly, I did look all over the country, and this offers some unique airspace for testing. We’ve got pretty unrestricted airspace up to high altitudes and we have incredible airports with instrument-flight-rules approaches, which we need for our system. We can go between Kerikeri and Kaitāia or Kerikeri and Whangārei in relatively uncongested airspace, and once our product is certified we can head down to Auckland and test our systems in a really congested environment.”
The Far North also had the advantages of a supportive council and community, and opportunities to pick up freight runs that wouldn’t interfere with other operators.
Ngāti Rēhia’s Kipa Munro (right front) blesses Merlin NZ’s soon-to-be autonomous aircraft at the company’s newly built Kerikeri facility. Photo / Peter de Graaf
Johnson started his aviation career as an Air Force avionics technician. The last time he was in the Advocate was when he landed an Iroquois chopper on the field at his old school.
Later he became an engineering officer, completed some tertiary education, and retired as a Wing Commander.
He then joined the CAA for six years before he was shoulder-tapped by Merlin to set up the company’s first overseas subsidiary.
New Zealand was chosen because of the strong relationship between the CAA and the US Federal Aviation Administration, plus the CAA’s reputation for “being pragmatic, forward-looking yet grounded in safety”.
So far Merlin Labs NZ had 15 staff, seven of whom were permanently in Kerikeri. Its second Cessna Caravan arrived yesterday and a third is due late next year.
Renata Tane sounds a pūkaea during the blessing of Merlin NZ’s newly delivered Cessna Grand Caravan. Photo / Peter de Graaf
Five members of the team, himself included, left Northland straight after high school because they didn’t see any opportunities at home.
“So having a chance to bring something like this back to Te Tai Tokerau is wonderful for all of us. We’re super passionate about STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) and youth in Northland, and even if we create only one or two jobs, we can expose young Northlanders to this sort of technology.”
“The aviation industry has thrived for many, many years through attracting a particular demographic, but the world’s changed and we need people who are interested in different things. Northland and rural New Zealand are full of people who understand hard mahi, who think in different ways, but might not even comprehend that aviation is a career opportunity for them.”
