Wisk Expects to Carry Passengers This Decade, Says CEO

Arun Sivasankaran - : Jul 23, 2024 - : 4:30 am

Brian Yutko, CEO of Boeing-owned Wisk Aero autonomous eVTOL vehicle, expects the aircraft to begin carrying passengers "later in the decade." Flight testing of the company's 6th generation aircraft is expected to commence later this year. Wisk is developing a...

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Wisk is developing a four-seater autonomous aircraft that will have a range of 90 miles. "We are in the middle of a certification program with the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration)," Yutko said on the opening day of the ongoing Show. "We are now testing and producing the elements of this aircraft that we hope to fly around the end of this year."

The Wisk team has grown over the last few years and is about 800 strong, said Yutko. "We are pretty heads down right now on the building and testing phase of this. We are making great progress on our certification program. That is a pioneering program; we are trying to pioneer the first certification basis for an autonomous passenger carrying aircraft. We are looking forward to flying the airplane in the coming months.

"We want to enter into service this decade," Yutko added. "We have planned ahead of that to achieve type certification and the operational approvals that are required to fly autonomous aircraft," said Yutko. "We have to do both of those things, which is an unique aspect of certifying an autonomous aircraft."

Skyports agreement: Also on the opening day of the Show, Wisk and Skyports Infrastructure (Skyports), a vertiport infrastructure builder, announced that they were expanding their partnership to identify an Entry-into-Service (EIS) network for Wisk’s autonomous Generation 6 aircraft in the South East Queensland (SEQ) region of Australia.

Thet agreement builds on an existing partnership between Wisk and Skyports announced in 2022. The two companies will collaborate to determine locations for a viable vertiport network for SEQ, which is undergoing rapid and extensive development ahead of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“Skyports has already been a strong partner to Wisk, and we are proud to build on the work we’re doing already, this time in Australia,” said Yutko. “Wisk is committed to bringing safe, emissions-free aviation to Queensland, and this partnership will get us one step closer to making our goal a reality.”

“We’re pleased to publicly announce the work we are undertaking with Wisk to facilitate the launch of AAM services on Australia’s eastern coast," said Duncan Walker, CEO of Skyports. "This collaboration will leverage our combined expertise to develop a robust, scalable infrastructure network to enable safe, efficient air taxi services for communities and visitors across the South East Queensland region.”

Skyports / Wisk-aero / Brian-yutko / Autonomous-aircraft /

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