GabyAnalysts at Morgan Stanley predict that by 2050 the global air taxi market will be worth £2.7 trillion. The idea of flying cars has already moved out of science fiction and into reality: HouseWife reported on a similar project from the Chinese company XPeng AeroHT, which built an electric flying car with vertical takeoff and landing, and on the ASKA flying car from the American startup NFM.
The project we’re covering today was developed in the U.S.: Wisk, based in Mountain View, California, has unveiled an autonomous, fully electric eVTOL capable of carrying four passengers. The company has been developing autonomous electric vertical takeoff-and-landing aircraft for several years with the goal of using them as air taxis. The company says this production version will undergo certification by the Federal Aviation Administration.
Design and cabin
Wisk’s autonomous eVTOL is built so passengers can sit back and enjoy the view. Safety comes from a simplified design with a minimal number of moving parts, fully redundant systems, and no single point of failure—fewer moving parts means fewer failures. The aircraft also has a spacious cabin that comfortably fits four passengers and their luggage. The entry and exit design accommodates people with different mobility levels, and the user interface supports passengers with visual or hearing impairments.
Technical specifications
According to the manufacturer, the sixth-generation eVTOL features 12 rotors and a delta-wing configuration with enhanced power units. The vehicle also has pivoting motors in front of the wings and fixed lift units behind the wings to help improve control. The sixth iteration of the eVTOL will have a range of 90 miles and a cruising speed of 120 knots.
The company’s headquarters are in California, and Wisk receives support from Boeing and Kitty Hawk Corporation.
