Page 24 - AAA January / February 2024 Digital Magazine | GBP
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passengers to bring backpacks Cities with real congestion Wisk has no intentions of being
and small personal devices. As problems are great markets for involved in other aspects of AAM
battery technology continues companies in the industry. We such as Unmanned Air Traffic
to advance, companies will have to explain to people why Management (UATM) and build-
think about longer durations this would be useful and ben- ing of vertiports, says Tanner.
and carrying more payload.” eficial for the community. You “We are focused on what we
also have to demonstrate that do best, which is building
Wisk has global aspirations.
“ cerned about safety and noise. are going to work to certify it,
self-flying eVTOL aircraft. We
it is safe. People are also con-
The great thing about eVTOLs,
test it and manufacture it; we
We are starting in
it is being bult with the high-
too. We do not have any inten-
the US. That is where this aircraft in particular, is that expect to operate the aircraft
are based and that is est safely levels in mind. It is tion to build infrastructure. It is
important for us to partner with
also significantly quieter than
where are currently helicopters.” ither companies in the sector;
flying our technology there is a lot of things for verti-
demonstrator,” says port companies to consider to
Tanner. Working with Regulators meet the needs of the different
types of aircraft that will come
The company has a close part- to market. It has become a very
nership with the FAA and other collaborative discussion.”
regulators around the world,
“That being said, there are says Tanner. “Our aircraft will The company’s aircraft has been
many really interesting mar- not get into the sky and carry built with passengers in mind,
kets around the globe, not only passengers until it is certi- but other applications have not
throughout Europe but also fied. We are focused on our been ruled out. “The aircraft
throughout Asia. We have a certification program with the is extremely flexible,” says
team based in New Zealand. FAA today. After we complete Tanner.
We also have some partner- our certification process in
ships in Australia.” the U.S., we will absolutely be “We can remove the interior
expanding this globally. We and carry cargo. And that is
Public acceptance is key to the have already started to engage not going to require an entirely
success of advanced air mobil- with other global regulators. different aircraft design for us
ity, says Tanner. “This is a new We have a relationship with to be able to deliver on cargo
form of transportation. As in EASA, but we currently do not applications.”
anything that is new, you must have an active type certificate
provide a lot of education. program with the agency.” The company has yet to
announce a launch date for its
6th generation aircraft.
“We have targets in mind that
we are working towards as a
company. The regulator ulti-
mately determines when they
think we are safe and ready to
fly passengers; we don’t drive
those dates. We just work very
closely and in a collaborative
manner to get to that point. we
are confident that it will happen
within this decade.”•
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