New footage of flying air taxis coming to New Zealand

New footage of flying taxis that will be active in New Zealand within "five to 10 years" has been released. Wisk Aero is creating pilotless flying taxis that "rise like a helicopter and fly like a plane". The aircraft has 12 independent electric rotors, redundant systems, and a parachute if anything goes seriously wrong. Testing took place in Canterbury over recent years, with Stuff Travel witnessing a test flight at Tekapo Airport in 2019. The company has partnered with the New Zealand Government to progress its trials, and with Air New Zealand – which may eventually introduce them to its fleet. More than 1500 test flights have so far taken place both in New Zealand and at its base in the United States.Fresh footage has been released of Wisk's progress, revealing the aircraft flying faster and higher. The company also recently announced a "6th generation" aircraft which has four seats, with the company saying "the day in which you'll be able to skip traffic by flying over it in an air taxi is approaching, and we want the world to be ready”. Flight testing in New Zealand has wrapped up for now, and the focus here has moved to an "Airspace Integration Trial Programme”. "We have been developing and testing procedures that will allow autonomous aircraft to fly in controlled airspace," explains Chris Brown, Wisk's Communications Lead. Air New Zealand's CEO Greg Foran was recently in California checking out the new four-seater aircraft.<br/>