Gallery: Wisk Generation 5 Demonstrator Makes Public Debut At Oshkosh

Wisk’s Generation 5 developmental aircraft made its public debut on July 25 at AirVenture 2023, flying autonomously as the first aircraft in the day’s flight demonstrations.  The second day of the show was billed as the day for promoting aircraft that were demonstrating new technologies. The Gen 5 aircraft took off vertically to a height of 10 m (33 ft.) from the north end of Runway 18/36 facing the crowd and executed a right pedal turn to point south.

The Wisk aircraft accelerated to about 85 kt. as it flew south at Wittman Municipal Airport in Oshkosh along Runway 18/36. It executed a pedal turn at the south end of the flight demonstration area and then flew north. FAA rules for airshows require that an aircraft carry the minimum number of people necessary. Since the Wisk flies autonomously with a pilot monitoring the flight from the ground-based mobile control unit and a backup pilot on the flight line, there was no need for anyone to fly in the aircraft.

The Generation 5 demonstrator relies on 12 rotors driven by electric motors to provide vertical lift and a rear-mounted pusher propeller for horizontal flight. It generates much less noise than a helicopter and was noticeably quieter as it passed observers who were about 100 yards from the runway. The aircraft can carry two passengers.

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The flight demonstration lasted about 4 min. The pilot and test director observed the flight from Wisk’s mobile ground control station, which is based in a trailer that the company towed from its test facility at Hollister Municipal Airport in California. After reaching the north end of the runway, the aircraft performed a 180-deg. turn and again flew south in front of the crowd. Wisk also had three observers on the flight line: a second pilot, a crew chief and an observer who is also a crew chief.

The aircraft flew about 2.5 lengths of the runway before lining up to land near the runway's midpoint. The battery-powered Generation 5 aircraft weighs about 2,400 lb. empty and maintains constant weight throughout flight, since there is no fuel burn.

As the end of its 4-min. demonstration neared, the Gen 5 aircraft made a 360-deg. pedal turn, allowing the crowd to view it from all angles and dipped its nose as a bow to the crowd.

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The unoccupied aircraft touched down lightly on the runway and rolled a short distance.

After landing a towbar was attached to the Gen 5’s nose year, and a pickup truck towed it to the staging area. Wisk’s advanced air mobility demonstrator proved to be a crowd pleaser.