Company:Kitty Hawk Corporation
Type | Private |
---|---|
Industry | Aircraft |
Headquarters | Palo Alto, California , U.S. |
Key people | Sebastian Thrun (President and CEO) |
Website | kittyhawk |
Kitty Hawk Corporation is an American aircraft manufacturer producing electric personal air vehicles.
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 6 June 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 3 June 2020;[7] CEO Sebastian 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
- Oliver Heaviside
References
- ↑ "Kitty Hawk". https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/kitty-hawk.
- ↑ Fiegerman, Seth (24 April 2017). "Google cofounder's 'flying car' makes its debut". https://money.cnn.com/2017/04/24/technology/larry-page-flying-car/index.html.
- ↑ Markoff, John (24 April 2017). "No Longer a Dream: Silicon Valley Takes On the Flying Car". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/24/technology/flying-car-technology.html.
- ↑ Vijayan, Jaikumar (25 April 2017). "Google Co-Founder Larry Page's Kitty Hawk Venture Demos Flying Car". eWeek. http://www.eweek.com/mobile/google-co-founder-larry-page-s-kitty-hawk-venture-demos-flying-car.
- ↑ Graham, Jefferson (22 December 2017). "The top tech innovations of 2017". https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/talkingtech/2017/12/22/top-tech-innovations-2017/963641001/.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Swartz, Kenneth I. (12 Jul 2018). "Kitty Hawk Enters Service". Vertiflite. http://evtol.news/2018/07/12/kitty-hawk-enters-service/.
- ↑ Wolfsteller, Pilar (3 June 2020). "Kitty Hawk ends Flyer eVTOL programme". FlightGlobal. https://www.flightglobal.com/-kitty-hawk-ends-flyer-evtol-programme/138675.article.
- ↑ O'Kane, Sean (4 June 2020). "Kitty Hawk abandons its Flyer project, lays off dozens". 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". https://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/102203642/air-taxi-trials-possible-in-six-years-as-tech-company-trials-flying-vehicle-in-canterbury.
- ↑ "Wisk (Kitty Hawk) Cora" (in en). Vertical Flight Society. https://evtol.news/aircraft/kitty-hawk-cora/.
- ↑ "Kitty Hawk Announcements" (in en). Vertical Flight Society. 24 August 2019. https://evtol.news/news/kitty-hawk-announcements.
- ↑ "After ups and downs, Boeing and Kitty Hawk reboot flying-car venture as Wisk". 3 December 2019. https://www.geekwire.com/2019/ups-downs-boeing-kitty-hawk-reboot-flying-car-venture-wisk/.
- ↑ Adams, Eric (18 April 2019). "Kitty Hawk’s New Flying Car Promises a (Near) Silent Flight". https://www.wired.com/story/kitty-hawk-heaviside-larry-page-flying-car/.
- ↑ "Is Kitty Hawk Introducing Range Anxiety For eVTOL Aircraft With Its Heaviside?". 13 October 2019. https://cleantechnica.com/2019/10/12/is-kitty-hawk-introducing-range-anxiety-for-evtol-aircraft-with-its-heaviside/.
- ↑ "Kitty Hawk Reveals Ultra-Quiet ‘Heaviside’ eVTOL Design" (in en). 4 October 2019. https://www.aviationtoday.com/2019/10/04/kitty-hawk-reveals-ultra-quiet-heaviside-evtol-design/.
- ↑ "Kitty Hawk Heaviside". Vertical Flight Society. 3 October 2019. https://evtol.news/aircraft/kitty-hawk-heaviside/.
External links