| Formerly | Zee.Aero |
|---|---|
| Company type | Private |
| Industry | Aircraft |
| Founded | 2010 |
| Founder | Sebastian Thrun |
| Headquarters | , U.S. |
Key people | Sebastian Thrun (President and CEO) |
| Website | kittyhawk |
Kitty Hawk Corporation was an American aircraft manufacturer producing electric ultralight aircraft.
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]
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]
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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]
In 2019, Kitty Hawk introduced a new aircraft called the Heaviside.[15] It is designed to be quieter than normal aircraft.[16][17]
In 2022, Kitty Hawk introduced the 2nd iteration of its Heaviside, named H2.[18]