Question about communicating with Pixhawk with RasPi over the network

Hello! I have purchased a RasPi 3 and a Pixhawk, and I would like to control the pixhawk and the flight modes by sending commands to the RasPi over the network. However, all the tutorials I have seen mentioned needing a radio communication between my ground station and the pixhawk. Is it possible to establish the connection without using a radio connection? Can I fly the pixhawk without a radio connection before connecting it to the RasPi?
Thank you!