Kitty Hawk Corporation
Kitty Hawk Corporation is an American aircraft manufacturer producing electric personal air vehicles.
Type | Private |
---|---|
Industry | Aircraft |
Headquarters | , |
Key people | Sebastian Thrun (President and CEO) |
Website | kittyhawk |
History
The company was founded 2010. It has about 300 employees.[1] It is supported by Google's co-founder Larry Page.[2]
Kitty Hawk Flyer
The Flyer was a personal aircraft which was kept aloft by eight battery-powered propellers.[3][4] The engineering was led by Cameron Robertson and Todd Reichert.[5] The production Flyer was introduced on June 6, 2018. A license was not required to pilot the Flyer, as it was built under US FAR Part 103 ultralight regulations.[6] After 25,000 unmanned or crewed flights combined, using 111 aircraft, Kitty Hawk ended the programme on June 3, 2020;[7] CEO Thrun stated that, with Flyer, the company “could not find a path to a viable business”.[8]
Specifications
Data from Vertiflite[6]
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
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.[9][10] 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.[11][12]
Kitty Hawk Heaviside
In 2019, Kitty Hawk introduced a new aircraft called Heaviside.[13] It is designed to be quieter than normal aircraft.[14][15]
Specifications
Data from Electric VTOL News[16]
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
- "Kitty Hawk". crunchbase.com. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
- Fiegerman, Seth (24 April 2017). "Google cofounder's 'flying car' makes its debut". CNNMoney. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
- Markoff, John (24 April 2017). "No Longer a Dream: Silicon Valley Takes On the Flying Car". nytimes.com. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
- Vijayan, Jaikumar (25 April 2017). "Google Co-Founder Larry Page's Kitty Hawk Venture Demos Flying Car". eWeek. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
- Graham, Jefferson (22 December 2017). "The top tech innovations of 2017". usatoday.com. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
- Kenneth I. Swartz (12 July 2018). "Kitty Hawk Enters Service". Vertiflite.
- Pilar Wolfsteller (3 June 2020). "Kitty Hawk ends Flyer eVTOL programme". Flightglobal.
- https://www.theverge.com/2020/6/4/21280676/kitty-hawk-cancels-flyer-evtol-drone-aircraft-hoverboke-layoffs
- Michael Hayward. "Air taxi trials possible in six years as tech company trials flying vehicle in Canterbury". stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
- "Wisk (Kitty Hawk) Cora". evtol.news. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
- https://evtol.news/2019/08/24/kitty-hawk-announcements/
- "After ups and downs, Boeing and Kitty Hawk reboot flying-car venture as Wisk". GeekWire. 3 December 2019.
- Eric Adams (18 April 2019). "Kitty Hawk's New Flying Car Promises a (Near) Silent Flight". wired.com. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
- "Is Kitty Hawk Introducing Range Anxiety For eVTOL Aircraft With Its Heaviside?". CleanTechnica. 13 October 2019.
- "Kitty Hawk Reveals Ultra-Quiet 'Heaviside' eVTOL Design". Avionics. 4 October 2019.
- "Kitty Hawk Heaviside". evtol.news. Retrieved 18 April 2020.