Canterbury pilotless air taxi flight trials successful

Wisk Aero says a partnership of aviation leaders has successfully demonstrated that uncrewed aircraft can be safely integrated into controlled airspace among piloted aircraft and it expects electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) pilotless air taxis will be in use by 2030.

A “first-of-its-kind trial”, including a series of test flights (the eVTOL dubbed “Cora”) aimed at evaluating the operational integration of uncrewed aircraft flying beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) into controlled airspace, has been successfully completed, it adds.

“The successful completion of these trial test flights in New Zealand demonstrates that safe, uncrewed flight operations are possible, today, in controlled airspace among other piloted aircraft.

“Through the trial programme, the partnership has established a safe process for uncrewed aircraft to access controlled airspace and created a significant new understanding and capability for commercial autonomous flight operations. The trials offer key insights for regulators and industry players globally to facilitate further testing and inform rulemaking.”

Led by Wisk Aero, the trials included the New Zealand Government and industry partners, including Insitu Pacific as the approved remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) operator, the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand (CAA) as the regulatory observer and Part 102 approver, Airways New Zealand as the air navigation service provider alongside Airways International’s uncrewed traffic management (UTM) system AirShare, and indigenous-led aerospace venture Tawhaki providing the flight-testing site.

Multiple test flights were held from November 17 to December 1 in the latest testing phase at the Tawhaki National Aerospace Centre at Kaitorete in Canterbury, involving take-offs, landings, and uncontrolled and controlled airspace navigation.

The latest test flights were part of Wisk’s multi-phased testing programme under the New Zealand Government’s Airspace Integration Trial Programme (AITP) first announced in 2019.

“The successful completion of this phase of testing demonstrates that it is possible to safely integrate autonomous aircraft into controlled airspace that is shared with piloted aircraft,” says Wisk APAC and air operations vice president Catherine MacGowan.

“The processes, data, and learnings from these trial flights will help shape the future of advanced air mobility (AAM) and the broader aviation industry.”

EVs and Beyond has reported progress since the trials started four years ago, with earlier testing from 2017.