Kitty Hawk Corporation

Kitty Hawk Corporation was an American aircraft manufacturer producing electric ultralight aircraft.

Kitty Hawk Corporation
FormerlyZee.Aero
TypePrivate
IndustryAircraft
Founded2010 (2010)
FounderSebastian Thrun
Headquarters
Palo Alto, California
,
U.S.
Key people
Sebastian Thrun (President and CEO)
Websitekittyhawk.aero

History

The company was founded as Zee.Aero in 2010.[1] It was supported by Google's co-founder Larry Page.[2] In September 2022, it was announced that the company was winding down, though their joint venture with Boeing, Wisk Aero would continue.[3]

Products

Kitty Hawk Flyer

The Flyer was an ultralight aircraft which was kept aloft by eight battery-powered propellers.[4][5] The engineering was led by Cameron Robertson and Todd Reichert.[6] 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.[7] After 25,000 unmanned or crewed flights combined, using 111 aircraft, Kitty Hawk ended the programme on 3 June 2020;[8] CEO Sebastian Thrun stated that, with Flyer, the company "could not find a path to a viable business".[9]

Cora PAV
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.[10][11]

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 the Wisk Cora.[12][13] In December 2019, the Cora team was rebranded and spun off as a separate company called Wisk Aero.[14]

Kitty Hawk Heaviside

In 2019, Kitty Hawk introduced a new aircraft called the Heaviside.[15] It is designed to be quieter than normal aircraft.[16][17]

Kitty Hawk H2 (Heaviside 2)

In 2022, Kitty Hawk introduced the 2nd iteration of its Heaviside, named H2.[18]

References
  1. Capoot, Ashley (21 September 2022). "Google co-founder's flying car startup is winding down". CNBC.
  2. Fiegerman, Seth (24 April 2017). "Google cofounder's 'flying car' makes its debut". CNN Money. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  3. Shakir, Umar (21 September 2022). "Larry Page's flying car startup Kitty Hawk is shutting down". The Verge. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  4. Markoff, John (24 April 2017). "No Longer a Dream: Silicon Valley Takes On the Flying Car". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  5. Vijayan, Jaikumar (25 April 2017). "Google Co-Founder Larry Page's Kitty Hawk Venture Demos Flying Car". eWeek. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  6. Graham, Jefferson (22 December 2017). "The top tech innovations of 2017". USA Today. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  7. Swartz, Kenneth I. (12 July 2018). "Kitty Hawk Enters Service". Vertiflite – via Electric VTOL News.
  8. Wolfsteller, Pilar (3 June 2020). "Kitty Hawk ends Flyer eVTOL programme". FlightGlobal.
  9. O'Kane, Sean (4 June 2020). "Kitty Hawk abandons its Flyer project, lays off dozens". The Verge.
  10. Michael Hayward. "Air taxi trials possible in six years as tech company trials flying vehicle in Canterbury". stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  11. "Wisk (Kitty Hawk) Cora". Electric VTOL News. Vertical Flight Society. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  12. "Kitty Hawk Announcements". Electric VTOL News. Vertical Flight Society. 24 August 2019.
  13. "After ups and downs, Boeing and Kitty Hawk reboot flying-car venture as Wisk". GeekWire. 3 December 2019.
  14. Boyle, Alan (9 December 2019). "After ups and downs, Boeing and Kitty Hawk reboot flying-car venture as Wisk". GeekWire. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
  15. Adams, Eric (18 April 2019). "Kitty Hawk's New Flying Car Promises a (Near) Silent Flight". wired.com. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  16. "Is Kitty Hawk Introducing Range Anxiety For eVTOL Aircraft With Its Heaviside?". CleanTechnica. 13 October 2019.
  17. "Kitty Hawk Reveals Ultra-Quiet 'Heaviside' eVTOL Design". Aviation Today. 4 October 2019.
  18. CNET (8 February 2022). "Kittyhawk Heaviside 2 revealed!". youtube.com.
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