Kitty Hawk Corporation

Kitty Hawk Corporation is an American aircraft manufacturer producing electric personal air vehicles.

Kitty Hawk Corporation
TypePrivate
IndustryAircraft
Headquarters
Palo Alto, California
,
U.S.
Key people
Sebastian Thrun (President and CEO)
Websitekittyhawk.aero

History

The company was founded 2010. It is supported by Google's co-founder Larry Page.[1]

Kitty Hawk Flyer

The Flyer was a personal aircraft which was kept aloft by eight battery-powered propellers.[2][3] The engineering was led by Cameron Robertson and Todd Reichert.[4] The production Flyer was introduced on 6 June 2018. A license was not required to pilot the Flyer, as it was built under US FAR Part 103 ultralight regulations.[5] After 25,000 unmanned or crewed flights combined, using 111 aircraft, Kitty Hawk ended the programme on 3 June 2020;[6] CEO Sebastian Thrun stated that, with Flyer, the company "could not find a path to a viable business".[7]

Specifications

Data from Vertiflite[5]

General characteristics

  • Crew: one
  • Length: 8 ft (2.4 m)
  • Wingspan: 13 ft (4.0 m)
  • Empty weight: 250 lb (113 kg)
  • Max takeoff weight: 450 lb (204 kg)
  • Powerplant: 10 × DC electric motor with fixed-pitch composite rotors
  • Main rotor diameter: 10 × 3 ft 11 in (1.19 m)
  • Main rotor area: 120.5 sq ft (11.19 m2)

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 26 kn (30 mph, 48 km/h)
  • Range: 5.2 nmi (6.0 mi, 9.7 km)
  • Endurance: 20 mn
  • Service ceiling: 20 ft (6.1 m)

Kitty Hawk Cora / Cora by Wisk
Main article: Cora by Wisk

Since March 2018, Kitty Hawk Corporation had been testing an autonomous, electric air taxi prototype in New Zealand called Cora and code-named Zee.Aero.[8][9] In 2019, the Kitty Hawk Cora autonomous personal air vehicle prototype was split off into a joint venture between Wisk Aero LLC and Boeing, becoming Cora by Wisk.[10][11]

Kitty Hawk Heaviside

In 2019, Kitty Hawk introduced a new aircraft called Heaviside.[12] It is designed to be quieter than normal aircraft.[13][14]

Specifications

Data from Electric VTOL News[15]

General characteristics

  • Crew: pilot / autopilot
  • Capacity: 1 passenger, 225 kg (496 lb) payload
  • Wingspan: 20 ft (6.1 m)
  • Powerplant: 6 × Electric on the main wing
  • Powerplant: 2 × Electric on the forewing

Performance

  • Cruise speed: 220 mph (350 km/h, 190 kn)
  • Range: 55 mi (89 km, 48 nmi)

See also

References
  1. Fiegerman, Seth (24 April 2017). "Google cofounder's 'flying car' makes its debut". CNN Money. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  2. Markoff, John (24 April 2017). "No Longer a Dream: Silicon Valley Takes On the Flying Car". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  3. Vijayan, Jaikumar (25 April 2017). "Google Co-Founder Larry Page's Kitty Hawk Venture Demos Flying Car". eWeek. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  4. Graham, Jefferson (22 December 2017). "The top tech innovations of 2017". USA Today. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  5. Swartz, Kenneth I. (12 July 2018). "Kitty Hawk Enters Service". Vertiflite – via Electric VTOL News.
  6. Wolfsteller, Pilar (3 June 2020). "Kitty Hawk ends Flyer eVTOL programme". FlightGlobal.
  7. O'Kane, Sean (4 June 2020). "Kitty Hawk abandons its Flyer project, lays off dozens". The Verge.
  8. Michael Hayward. "Air taxi trials possible in six years as tech company trials flying vehicle in Canterbury". stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  9. "Wisk (Kitty Hawk) Cora". Electric VTOL News. Vertical Flight Society. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  10. "Kitty Hawk Announcements". Electric VTOL News. Vertical Flight Society. 24 August 2019.
  11. "After ups and downs, Boeing and Kitty Hawk reboot flying-car venture as Wisk". GeekWire. 3 December 2019.
  12. Adams, Eric (18 April 2019). "Kitty Hawk's New Flying Car Promises a (Near) Silent Flight". wired.com. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  13. "Is Kitty Hawk Introducing Range Anxiety For eVTOL Aircraft With Its Heaviside?". CleanTechnica. 13 October 2019.
  14. "Kitty Hawk Reveals Ultra-Quiet 'Heaviside' eVTOL Design". Aviation Today. 4 October 2019.
  15. "Kitty Hawk Heaviside". Electric VTOL News. Vertical Flight Society. 3 October 2019. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
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