Wisk has unveiled the sixth generation of its advanced air mobility (AAM) vehicle. This will be the one that the US company, which is partly owned by Boeing, will offer for certification for future transportation of passengers. As before, Wisk sticks to its philosophy of a fully autonomously flying vehicle. Wisk unveils definitive version of its eVTOL.
The presentation of Generation 6 was already anticipated, when CEO Gary Gysin announced during the Farnborough Airshow that the vehicle would be unveiled this autumn. In Farnborough, Wisk had the two-seater Generation 5 on static display.
The latest version is a four-seater and without a pilot, the two passengers on the first row can literally enjoy a front-row experience. There is only a ‘frunk’ in front of them for luggage storage.
Generation 6 comes with a fixed-wing slightly under fifty feet/15.2 meters in span and a conventional, aircraft-like empennage that includes two horizontal stabilizers and the vertical fin. Gone is the concept of dual fins that were connected by a horizontal aerofoil.
Under each wing there are three booms, on which six electric motors are positioned, so the latest Wisk maintains its concept of twelve rotors. The front propellors with five blades can tilt from a horizontal to a vertical position to produce forward thrust, while the aft propellors remain in their horizontal position. However, they will align and lock into position during cruise to increase aerodynamic performance, Wisk explains on its website.
Including reserves, Generation 6 comes with a ninety-mile range/144 kilometers. It will fly at a cruising altitudes of 2.500 to 4.000 feet at a speed of 110-120 knots. The batteries can be charged in fifteen minutes to guarantee swift turnaround times.
“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,” Gary Gysin says in a media statement.
Wisk will be the first eVTOL maker to offer an autonomously flying vehicle to the FAA for certification, in line with the technological concept that it embraced since its start in 2010. As Gysin explained in Farnborough, there will be human oversight from the ground but this will only be on a limited level. The Wisk will rely on technology that it says accounts for more than 93 percent of all automated pilot functions on modern commercial aircraft. To this, new ‘smart’ sensor technology that can detect and avoid potentially dangerous situations are connected, as is new, “logic-driven, procedural-based, decision-making software”.
Gysin said that flying eVTOLs autonomously is the only way to make them affordable. Wisk targets a price of $3 per passenger per mile for flights.
Active as a journalist since 1987, with a background in newspapers, magazines, and a regional news station, Richard has been covering commercial aviation on a freelance basis since late 2016.
Richard is contributing to AirInsight since December 2018. He also writes for Airliner World, Aviation News, Piloot & Vliegtuig, and Luchtvaartnieuws Magazine. Twitter: @rschuur_aero.
