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Australia’s South East Queensland (SEQ) region could see early use cases for Wisk Aero’s Generation 6 eVTOL aircraft based on a partnership between the manufacturer and Skyports Infrastructure to develop vertiports. On Monday, the companies announced they will expand their existing collaboration to identify locations for a network of air taxi services.
About 4 million people live in SEQ, and demographic estimates show the population will grow to 6 million over the next 20 years. In 2032, the city of Brisbane will host the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, driving further infrastructure development.
California-based Wisk, which is owned by Boeing, has worked with Skyports since 2022 on advanced air mobility ecosystem projects in other locations. In the same year, the manufacturer also started discussions with SEQ’s Council of Mayors representing 11 different communities about plans to use its autonomous aircraft to expand public transportation and tourism.
Wisk’s Generation 6 aircraft, which sits on display at this week’s Farnborough Airshow, will fly to an anticipated range of around 78 nm at cruise speeds of up to 120 knots. It aims to start flight-testing the vehicle by the end of 2024.
Since 2010, Wisk has flown more than 1,700 test flights with earlier versions of the four-passenger design. It views the Asia-Pacific region as a promising market and has been performing development work in New Zealand and Australia. Earlier this year it launched a collaboration with Japan Airlines.