The aviation start-up founded by Google founder Larry Page is being closed. There have been problems before. Hard landing: Kitty Hawk has failed and stopped working. The company, founded by Larry Page, wanted to build an aircraft that anyone could fly without a license after a little training.
"We have made the decision to discontinue Kitty Hawk," the company said on Twitter and other social networks. "We are still working on the details of what will happen next."
Kitty Hawk wanted to develop a US Federal Aviation Regulations Category 103 ultralight aircraft. These microlights are considered vehicles in the United States, not aircraft, and do not require a pilot's license. The start-up was led by Sebastian Thrun, the founder of Google's secret laboratory X and developer of the autonomous Google cars.
The flyer was controlled by a joystick
In 2017, Kitty Hawk presented a working prototype of the aircraft. The following year, the finished Flyer was presented, a small, single-seat aircraft powered by eight electrically powered rotors. The aircraft, which weighs around 110 kilograms, was controlled with two joysticks. Software ensured that it flew stably.
In 2019 the next aircraft came: Heaviside, which resembled a conventional airplane. Its eight propellers were pusher type, which could be tilted for vertical takeoff and landing.
In addition, the company worked on the two-seater air taxi Cora, the development of which was funded in part by the US military. In late 2019, Kitty Hawk and Boeing formed the Wisk joint venture to build Cora.
The problems at Kitty Hawk are not entirely new: in mid-2020, the company announced that work on the flyer would be stopped. Instead, the company wanted to focus on Heaviside. Most of the 70 members of the Flyer team have been laid off.
The joint venture with Boeing is not affected by the setting, as Wisk announced on Twitter.
Comments / 1