|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Wisk Aero has successfully flown the first full-scale prototype of its autonomous four-passenger eVTOL air taxi, the Boeing-backed aircraft developer announced late Tuesday afternoon. According to Wisk, the Generation 6 aircraft took off, hovered, and performed some flight stabilization maneuvers during its inaugural flight, which took place at the company’s flight test facility in Hollister, California.
The flight marks the beginning of what the company said will be a “rigorous” flight-test program that will validate the aircraft’s design, simulation models, and performance. Initial tests will focus on “takeoffs, landings, and low-speed stability before expanding to higher speeds and altitudes, including complex maneuvers such as longitudinal transition, lateral transition, and pedal turns,” according to Wisk.
“This first flight is the moment our team has been working toward, and it is a powerful demonstration of the work, expertise, and commitment that have gone into the Gen 6 program,” said Wisk CEO Sebastien Vigneron. “Seeing Gen 6 take flight is an exciting moment for Wisk and the future of aviation. It reaffirms our belief in autonomy, and we are even more energized to continue the journey to bring safe, everyday flight to everyone.”
Unveiled in 2022, the Gen 6 eVTOL is the culmination of more than 1,750 flight test hours on Wisk”s subscale technology demonstrators. The all-electric aircraft is designed to carry four passengers on short trips of up to 90 miles, flying at a cruise speed of up to 120 knots at altitudes between 2,500 feet and 4,000 feet.
“The team at Wisk has built advanced technologies across flight controls, sensing, navigation, mission management, electric power, systems integration, and many others for a product that is designed to meet a rigorous safety case for a focused concept of operations,” noted Brian Yutko, Wisk chairman and v-p of product development at Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “The engineering methods and technologies are all a valuable source of insight for Boeing as we work together and thoughtfully apply them to the future of flight.”
Wisk intends to become the first company to certify a fully autonomous and pilotless eVTOL for commercial air-taxi services in the U.S. and has already begun the FAA certification process, but the company has not committed to any specific timeframe for service entry. It aims to launch air-taxi services in Houston, Los Angeles, and Miami in partnership with local operators and the Signature Aviation FBO group.
