Wisk’s Generation 6 eVTOL Completes First Autonomous Flight

• Wisk Aero's Generation 6 eVTOL completed its inaugural hover flight at the company's Hollister, CA test site.
• The flight begins a certification-focused test campaign, with Gen 6 positioned as the first autonomous passenger eVTOL seeking FAA approval.

Boeing-backed aerospace company, Wisk Aero, celebrated the first flight of its Aero Generation 6 autonomous aircraft. The flight was completed at the company’s test site in Hollister, California, where the aircraft performed a vertical takeoff, hover, and stable maneuvers as part of its initial evaluation. The company says this milestone is "a pivotal step forward in Wisk’s journey to deliver the first certified, autonomous passenger-carrying eVTOL to market in the U.S."

Wisk will now kick off a rigorous test phase with a focus on hover flight, including basic takeoffs, landings, and low-speed handling, before moving into higher-speed and higher-altitude operations. Alongside flight testing, the company is also advancing its autonomy features like detect-and-avoid and navigation. It’s also working with the FAA, NASA, and other partners to help shape how autonomous aircraft operate in national airspace. The company says this latest campaign builds on insights from more than 1,750 flights with previous generations., adding that it is “the only company to have designed, built, and flown six generations of eVTOL aircraft.”

Wisk’s Generation 6 is an autonomous, all-electric passenger aircraft currently undergoing the FAA type certification process. It uses a remote supervision model, where a human oversees multiple vehicles from the ground, and is being developed to meet or exceed today’s commercial aviation safety standards. As the first-ever candidate for an FAA-certified commercial autonomous passenger aircraft in the U.S., Wisk aims to launch Gen 6 in markets including Houston, Los Angeles, and Miami.

🌀 Tom’s Take:

Wisk is flying toward a first in the U.S., with an autonomous air taxi now in the FAA certification process. Autonomy in aviation is starting to meet the realities of regulation.

Source: Wisk Aero