Wisk Aero, a leading Advanced Air Mobility company, has successfully completed the world’s first public demonstration flight of a fully autonomous, electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL), fixed-wing air taxi. The milestone flight, which took place at EAA AirVenture, also marked the company’s first public demonstration of its 5th Generation autonomous, eVTOL technology demonstrator (Cora).
Wisk completed a multi-transition flight, during which the air taxi transitioned from hover to wing borne flight four times. The flight also included multiple maneuvers that demonstrated the unique capabilities of the aircraft, such as hover, 360-degree turns in place, and more. Video footage of the flight can be found on Wisk’s YouTube channel.
Brian Yutko, CEO of Wisk said, “This demonstration showcases the state of readiness for autonomous technology and electric propulsion. Combined with the progress we’re making on Type Certification for our 6th Generation air taxi, we’re proving that autonomy is possible and it’s happening today. We look forward to launching the first passenger service on an all-electric, autonomous air taxi within this decade.”
Wisk’s public demonstration flight adds to the company’s history of aviation firsts, including the world’s first full transition of an eVTOL aircraft (1st Generation air taxi), the world’s first piloted flight of a fly-by-wire, all-electric, human-rated aircraft (2nd Generation air taxi, 2015), the world’s first piloted full transition flight of a human-rated eVTOL aircraft (3rd Generation air taxi, 2017).
