The latest development from Wisk marks a significant step forward in making air taxis an everyday reality.
Wisk has unveiled the latest incarnation of its air taxi, which is self-flying and can seat up to four passengers.
The sixth-generation electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicle has been dubbed the most advanced air taxi in the world. Some key features include a simplified design with fewer moving parts, human oversight of every flight, and industry-leading autopilot technology.
Wisk’s latest design is expected to be the first vehicle of its type to be put forward for certification from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), although a timescale is yet to be provided.
President and CEO of Wisk, Gary Gysin, presented the air taxi at the company’s flight test center in California on Monday, saying,
“We’re introducing the most technically advanced aircraft system in this marketplace. It’s self-flying, it’s all-electric, it’s four-passenger. We think this is going to change transportation. Our 6th Generation aircraft is the culmination of years of hard work from our industry-leading team, learnings from our previous generations of aircraft, commitment from our investors, and the evolution and advancement of technology.”
A closer look at the specifications
Wisk’s sixth-generation eVTOL vehicle has a range of up to 90 miles (144 km) and a cruising speed of up to 138 mph (222 kph). It is expected to fly at an altitude of 2,500 – 4,000 feet (760 – 1,220 meters) and have a charge time of just 15 minutes.
Find out more about Wisk’s sixth-generation air taxi in this launch video:
Improved safety and greater passenger comfort
The vehicle has been designed to exceed rigorous modern aviation safety standards, and Wisk has a solid track record when it comes to safety – since 2010, it has operated over 1,600 test flights of the previous five generations of its air taxi, without a single incident.
The sixth-generation air taxi makes use of the same autopilot technology currently found on many modern commercial aircraft, combined with human oversight on every flight that can intervene if necessary. The company’s senior vice president of engineering and programs, Sebastien Vigneron, reiterated its focus on safety, stating,
“There is less than a billion chance that our system will fail. Those are simply the most stringent safety standards of today’s commercial aviation, and we’re going for that.”
The air taxi’s innovative design has also been developed with passenger comfort in mind. It features a larger passenger cabin than its predecessors and ample storage for baggage, as well as onboard Wi-Fi and personal device charging points.
Further developments in Urban Air Mobility
Wisk is backed by Boeing, and the California-based start-up will undoubtedly lean on the aircraft manufacturer’s expertise as it continues its journey to producing a pioneering eVTOL air taxi. However, it is not the only company with ambitious plans – last week in the UK, Vertical Aerospace’s eVTOL, the VX4, took to the skies for the first time with a piloted test flight.
It is still early days, and while Wisk has already flown sub-scale versions of its sixth-generation air taxi, there is currently no word as to when the full-scale test flight will take place. That said, the unveiling of its industry-leading sixth-generation air taxi is an exciting development in Urban Air Mobility.
Wisk hopes to launch its air taxi within the next five years, by which time the company predicts that it will operate 14 million flights annually.
Source: Simple Flying
