Boeing and Wisk Unveil First Operational Roadmap for Self-Flying Air Taxis

The plan’s aggressive timeframe aims to create a pathway forward by the end of the decade.

Wednesday, September 21, 2022 at 03:44 PM ET

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Operating fleets of self-flying aircraft supervised by a human in the loop is seen by many as critical to successful and profitable scaled operations. [Courtesy: Wisk Aero]

Key Takeaways:

Wisk Aero, with Boeing's support, released a detailed "Concept of Operations" report outlining its plan to launch uncrewed, self-flying eVTOL air taxis, supervised by ground-based "multi-vehicle supervisors" (MVS), a strategy that differentiates them from competitors.
The report provides a roadmap for integrating automated Urban Air Mobility (UAM) into the U.S. national airspace, advocating for new flight rules and aiming to enable safe, affordable, and equitable urban flight by the end of the decade.
A notable oversight in the otherwise comprehensive report is its minimal discussion of critical factors like noise and community acceptance, which are considered essential for the successful implementation and integration of vertiports.

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For the first time, California-based electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft developer Wisk Aero and its major backer Boeing (NYSE: BA) have released a comprehensive concept operations report for their uncrewed, self-flying air taxis.

The 64-page document represents the next step in Wisk’s plan to move ahead of its competitors by launching service with automated air taxis, operated by “multi-vehicle supervisors” (MVS) on the ground. Wisk’s competitors, including Archer Aviation (NYSE: ACHR) and Joby Aviation (NYSE: JOBY), intend to fly passengers initially using on-board pilots, before eventually transitioning to an automated platform. Wisk, Archer, Joby, and others are flight testing full-size prototypes of their eVTOLs. Both Archer and Joby have said they expect to achieve FAA certification in time to enter service in 2024.