Maiden launch

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A Mountain View-based company developing its sixth-generation autonomous electric air taxi at the Hollister Municipal Airport held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Oct. 29 for what it called the first autonomous vertiport in a public airport in the United States. 

According to its website, Wisk’s Generation 6 aircraft is the world’s first four-passenger autonomous electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft candidate for Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification. 

The ceremony was attended by Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren and Hollister Mayor Roxanne Stephens at the vertiport, which serves as a platform for the aircraft to take off and land.

Wisk’s Jon Lovegren, the company’s vice president of autonomy and airspace integration, told BenitoLInk the vertiport opening is a significant milestone that moves autonomous aircraft technology from the developmental phase to the operational and certification phase. 

“That’s actually needed as one of the final steps to prove to the FAA that this is ready to carry people,” he said. 

Lovegren estimated it will take about a decade for autonomous air taxis to be certified by the FAA.

“We’re really excited to continue that partnership with Hollister and continue our development of  eVTOL and autonomous flight here,” he said. 

Autonomous aircraft are not operated by pilots. Instead, people on the ground oversee the technology that allows the aircraft with only passengers on board to travel to their destinations. 

Wisk Integration Manager Cash Castillo said to the more than 60 attendees that the vertiport marks a new era of aviation.

“I want each of you to say I was there when modern aviation history was made,” he said. “I was there when the Autonomous Air Mobility industry launched a new era of aviation platforms and transportation.”

Wisk Vice President of Production System Leon Villegas told attendees that building the vertiport took more than nine months of planning and two months for construction. 

Stephens said the work Wisk is doing at the airport is an opportunity for the city to join the Bay Area in advancing technology.

Along with several other speakers, Stephens credited acting City Manager Jeff Crechriou for supporting Wisk in building two hangars and the vertiport. Crechriou is also the airport manager and acting planning director for Hollister.

“It takes vision, it takes a willingness to take some risk and ability to work with our partners,” Stephens said. 

Lovegren said the testing being conducted by Wisk at the Hollister Municipal Airport includes flying the Generation 6 aircraft at low altitudes over the runway and eventually up to several thousand feet at approximately 120 knots, which is about 138 mph.

He noted that on take-off the aircraft acts like a helicopter and then transitions into a traditional airplane when it travels.

Villegas told attendees that the company first began operating at the airport in 2014 and built the Generation 2 aircraft there. Two years later, it built its first hangar where it developed Generation 3, 4 and 5 aircrafts.

In 2024, he said, Wisk built a second hangar where it’s developing the Generation 6 aircraft. 

In addition to Wisk, Joby Aviation is seeking to conduct tests of its flying taxis at the airport.

Crechriou told BenitoLInk he expects Joby to begin testing operations in early December. He said the FAA approved in April the city’s contract with Joby in April for testing its aircraft at the airport. 

Other speakers at the ribbon-cutting ceremony included representatives of the FAA, Caltrans aeronautics division and Lofgren.

Attendees included representatives of the offices of Assemblymember Robert Rivas and state Senator John Laird, and Hollister City Councilmembers Priscilla De Anda, Dolores Morales and Rudy Picha. Representatives of NASA also attended.

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