Page 28 - AAA JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2022 Online Magazine

est certification standards (EASA SC-VTOL fication journey,” said Karim Mokaddem, Airbus Electrification Fast
Enhanced Category) and Airbus’ has used its Track Leader. An Air Race E aircraft also recently carried out the
experience to reduce the CityAirbus’ sound first-ever flight by an all-electric race plane. Airbus’ existing pro-
levels below 65 dB(A) during fly-over and below grammes such as eVTOL vehicles and micro-hybridisation projects,
70 dB(A) during landing. which aim to power a growing number of on-board systems via
batteries share many synergies between Air Race E flight testbeds
Airbus’ helicopter ‘Flightlab’ is also trialling
technology to support future autonomous sys- Funding in Anticipation
tems which are an essential stepping stone Wisk is an Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) company and developing
towards autonomous flight. A complete demon- the first all-electric, self-flying air taxi in the USA. Wisk’s 6th gener-
stration is planned in 2023 and Airbus’ Urban ation eVTOL aircraft will be the first-ever candidate for certification
Air Mobility (UAM) will also benefit from this of an autonomous, all-electric, passenger-carrying aircraft in the
technology. The airframer is trialling a pilot flight U.S. Marc Allen, Chief Strategy Officer of Boeing said: “With this
control design this year. The results could aid investment, we are reconfirming our belief in Wisk’s business and
in lowering pilot workload and could make its the importance of their work in pioneering all-electric, AI-driven,
way not only to traditional rotorcraft but also autonomous capability for the aerospace industry. Autonomy is the
other VTOL platforms for UAM. Airbus has key to unlocking scale across all AAM applications, from passenger
already fully integrated together and tested to cargo and beyond. That’s why straight-to-autonomy is a core
these technologies, which will allow it to under- first principle. Boeing and Wisk have been at the forefront of AAM
take autonomous flight with automatic take-off innovation for more than a decade, and will continue to lead in the
and landing. Airbus is also working to provide years ahead.”
a system that can manage navigation, route
preparation and allow a pre-defined flight path ‘WITH THIS INVESTMENT, WE ARE RECONFIRMING
to be maintained by the aircraft.
OUR BELIEF IN WISK’S BUSINESS AND THE
“MORE THAN EVER, WHEN IMPORTANCE OF THEIR WORK IN PIONEERING
WE LOOK AT THE CONCEPT OF ALL-ELECTRIC, AI-DRIVEN, AUTONOMOUS
SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY, THE CAPABILITY FOR THE AEROSPACE INDUSTRY,’
CHALLENGES PUSH US TO WORK Marc Allen, Chief Strategy Officer of Boeing.
DIFFERENTLY, TO BE DISRUPTIVE Wisk will utilise the nearly half a billion dollars in funding from
AND TO USE THE LEARNINGS AND Boeing to also support an intensive growth phase for the launch of
ACHIEVEMENTS FROM A MIX OF scale manufacturing and accelerate the company’s Go-to-Market
SECTORS. IN THIS CASE, FLYING efforts. Gary Gysin, CEO of Wisk said:
AIRCRAFT USING TRIED AND TESTED “Wisk is extremely well-positioned to deliver on our long-term strat-
ELECTRIC TECHNOLOGIES FROM THE egy and commitment to safe, everyday flight for everyone…. As we
AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY IS PROOF enter this next stage of our growth, this additional funding provides
OF THAT AND IS AN APPROACH WE us with capital while allowing us to remain focused on our core
FULLY SUPPORT AS PART OF OUR business and our number one priority, safety.”
Wisk has extremely ambitious plans to operate one of the largest
ELECTRIFICATION JOURNEY,” Karim
Mokaddem, Airbus Electrification Fast Track
Leader

Airbus is an official founding partner for the
world’s first all-electric airplane competition, Air
Race E and is providing 17 teams with research
data and industry expertise to help collec-
tively drive the development of cleaner, faster
and more technologically advanced electric
engines. “More than ever, when we look at the
concept of sustainable mobility, the challenges
push us to work differently, to be disruptive and
to use the learnings and achievements from a
mix of sectors. In this case, flying aircraft using
tried and tested electric technologies from the
automotive industry is proof of that and is an
approach we fully support as part of our electri-

28 January/February 2022 WWW .GBP .COM.SG/ AAA