Wisk Aero has completed a public demonstration flight of its fully autonomous, electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL), fixed-wing air taxi at Oshkosh EAA AirVenture. It was the company’s first public demonstration of its eVTOL technology demonstrator Cora.
“Wisk completed a multi-transition flight, during which the air taxi transitioned from hover to wing borne flight four times,” said the company in a press statement. “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.”
“We’re proud to demonstrate the autonomous technology behind our self-flying first approach,” said Brian Yutko, CEO of Wisk. “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.”
“For the first time, we have publicly demonstrated fully autonomous flight, conducted by an all-electric, fly-by-wire, vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. There was no pilot on board, no pilot controls in the aircraft, and no stick-and-rudder on the ground. The entire flight was operated with the push of a button,” said Jim Tighe, Chief Technology Officer at Wisk.
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