eVTOL Evolution

By Paul Custodio

As Boeing marked its centennial in 2016, leaders recognized the need to quicken the pace of innovation for the 21st century. The Jet Age connected people and products around the world. Eventually, generations of travelers began demanding efficient urban mobility and sustainable solutions for global travel.

Conventional new product development required significant financial investment and years of research and design. To meet the demands of the near future, Boeing began looking for fresh perspectives and new ideas and found a path to the future of flight with its partners and business ventures.

Spreading the chips

In 2017, Boeing launched HorizonX, a dedicated venture arm tasked with discovering trends and opportunities in aerospace and technology. HorizonX would leverage capabilities within the global enterprise and partner with non-Boeing entities, acquiring fractional ownership in promising startups. This approach allowed Boeing to minimize financial risks and maximize learning at a speed and scale it hadn’t known for decades.

“Too often entities will try to create the one big idea,” said Pete Kunz, who served as chief technologist for HorizonX and then Boeing NeXt. “They won’t do anything until they have it, then they hope and pray it was the right one.

“By spreading our chips, we could be remarkably efficient in exploring new ideas,” said Kunz. “HorizonX provided appropriate support and guidance to these startups, allowing them to develop their ideas and innovate more freely. Ideally, their work could progress more rapidly.”

A core project for HorizonX, a partnership with the flying-car startup Kittyhawk, explored electric transportation solutions. As those teams began to demonstrate true promise, Boeing realized the need for further investments.

It was time to stack the chips a little higher.

NeXt steps

Boeing established Boeing NeXt later in 2017 to dedicate a division to advancing research, development and investments in urban mobility and other transportation challenges. NeXt teams advanced HorizonX projects to the next phases of development.

“NeXt moved the innovations out of the labs and started applying them to real-world challenges, including urban mobility,” said Steve Nordlund, who served as Boeing NeXt vice president and general manager. “Boeing airplanes move people and products all over the globe, typically at ranges of 300 miles or more. We wanted to solve for shorter air travel.”  

Boeing NeXt marked a clear commitment to invest more in these promising companies, but not just in terms of dollars. NeXt teams had direct access to the vast resources and capabilities of the airplane manufacturer.

“When a startup is given a mission and that kind of support, and information flows freely in both directions, it creates a recipe for magic,” said Wisk Aero CEO Brian Yutko, formerly with Aurora Flight Sciences, a wholly owned Boeing subsidiary.

NeXt introduced a different work environment at Boeing, where early- to mid-career engineers joining Boeing NeXt began working with senior technical advisers right away. These smaller engineering teams often had greater decision authority and could move more quickly than larger programs, while still leveraging the breadth and depth of Boeing technology, hardware and expertise.

“Senior engineering talent was chartered to oversee the less-experienced teams and step in if they saw any safety or technical issues,” said Troy Rutherford, former Boeing NeXt senior director, Future Mobility programs. “They weren’t there to judge the work or redo it, but to allow early-career talent to develop designs on their own — all with the right visibility to the highest levels of engineering at Boeing.”

NeXt teams achieved the speed they sought through an iterative design process known as spiral development. In that approach, objectives are determined first. Then, as progress is made, teams identify and resolve risks. Next comes development and testing. Once the results are in, it’s time to plan for the next iteration, redetermine objectives and start the cycle again.

Beyond a capital investment, NeXt signified Boeing’s determination to invest in people and develop new capabilities. NeXt attracted top talent, inspiring early-career professionals to join Boeing, work on significant projects and succeed in a fast-paced environment.

As NeXt followed its charter, talent grew exponentially, and investments swiftly began producing results.

In 2019, Kittyhawk, the promising startup, and Boeing NeXt announced a strategic partnership to collaborate on urban air mobility. The joint venture served as a perfect example of the promise of NeXt, leveraging the capabilities of Kittyhawk with Boeing’s scale and expertise.

NeXt made significant progress in developing urban mobility solutions, and in 2019, the team announced the first outdoor flight tests of an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).

Not so far away

In its ongoing quest for advanced learning and capabilities, Boeing NeXt entered a collaboration with The Walt Disney Co. to create a once-in-a-lifetime experience for “Star Wars” fans at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. Blending science and entertainment, NeXt engineers and Walt Disney Imagineering teams partnered to bring the magic of autonomy to the resort’s airspace.

The mission — autonomously fly X-wing Starfighters over Disney’s Hollywood Studios — gave NeXt an opportunity to gain valuable insights in eVTOL development.

Across Boeing, teams offered their expertise in rotorcraft and integrated payload design and supported vehicle fabrication and lab tests. Boeing AvionX experts helped develop vehicle components. And when it came time to fly, Boeing Test & Evaluation conducted the outdoor flight tests and air demonstrations.

For more than two years, the teams collaborated on proof of concept, design iterations, prototyping, flight tests and building the vehicle.

In December 2019, two X-wing Starfighters hovered over Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World Resort at the opening of “Star Wars”: Rise of the Resistance, then autonomously sped off into the night sky.

“The X-wings taking flight was incredible,” said Nordlund, vice president and general manager, Boeing Air Dominance. “But my most enjoyable experience throughout this entire process was watching our diverse team collaborate. Their depth of expertise is second to none.”

In addition to successfully designing, building and flying the X-wing Starfighters, NeXt gained valuable knowledge and experience that would benefit future Boeing programs.

“We learned a lot from Disney, and I think they learned a lot from us. Their teams possess extremely high technical competence, but they also have a creative narrative that’s imperative around everything they do,” said Kunz, who later served as vice president and chief engineer, Boeing Air Dominance. “We would hear ideas that might seem impossible at first, but we’d work to find the right solution to keep true to their creative vision.”

Through the relatively short partnership, NeXt made great advancements in rapid prototyping, cybersecurity for autonomous systems, and the maturation of electric flight technologies.

NeXt gained tangible experience in certifying large unpiloted aerial systems (UAS), working with state and federal regulators to learn how to safely introduce UAS vehicles into the national airspace.

“For Boeing, the partnership with Disney was more than entertainment,” said Nordlund. “We were able to prototype two vertical takeoff and landing air vehicles, which we had never done to this level as a company before.

“We did it safely, working and learning alongside the Federal Aviation Administration, from testing to the X-wing performances.”

The teams gained additional knowledge in business strategy, tailoring successful partnerships, and understanding the readiness of the supply chain. The teams also learned about the safe integration of autonomous systems into the national airspace and other necessary attributes for the future mobility market, Nordlund said.

Welcome passengers

As the collaboration between Kittyhawk and Boeing NeXt began to yield results, the partnership matured into an entity capable of revolutionizing urban mobility.

It was time to take another leap.

In 2019, Boeing NeXt and Kittyhawk established Wisk Aero, a joint venture that would lead the way to develop Kittyhawk’s Cora eVTOL as an air taxi.

With Wisk Aero focusing on eVTOL development, HorizonX joined with AE Industrial Partners, and Boeing NeXt dissolved in 2021. Then in 2023, Wisk Aero became a wholly owned Boeing subsidiary.

While Wisk Aero operates independently, the company continues to benefit from Boeing’s extensive resources.

“At NeXt, we firmly believed that electrification and autonomous technologies would revolutionize aviation,” said Yutko. “We are still confident that we will witness significant changes in the aircraft we use to travel through the air in the coming decades. Wisk is making that happen.”

Like NeXt, Wisk is advancing capabilities that not only bring the world closer to traveling safely in autonomous air taxis but also provide benefits to Boeing as well.

“Currently, Wisk is working to build and certify an autonomous four-seat passenger aircraft, and we’re launching a service,” said Yutko. “But that’s not the whole story.”

The company is leading research in human supervision of autonomous flight, safety-critical redundant aeronautics, advanced detect and avoid systems, electric propulsion, high-rate manufacturing, and digital tools.

Wisk Aero teams continue to reach out to Boeing experts when they need technical expertise or enterprise resources. With access to Boeing’s deep capabilities, they can save months, if not years, of development time as they unlock the secrets of safe autonomous flight.

“We benefit from Boeing every day,” said Yutko. “Recently, we started working with the Boeing wind tunnel facility in Philadelphia. It’s a capability we never dreamed of having, yet here we are, putting it to use.”

Wisk is tapping into Boeing’s capabilities to help build air taxi components. This includes carbon fiber parts manufactured in Washington state, knowledge gained from the X-wing experience with Disney, and triplex redundant systems computers with a legacy dating back to Boeing NeXt.

Wisk Aero maintains vertical integration in its design and manufacturing process. This means integrating the airframe and propulsion system to ensure every component is purpose-built, rather than modified for use.

“We design and build almost every system on the aircraft, from nose to tail,” said Yutko.

“Wisk is a large part of the legacy of HorizonX and Boeing NeXt,” said Yutko. “We’re still exploring the art of the possible side by side with Boeing and advancing technologies and capabilities that will help differentiate Boeing’s future products.”

Making history

With the creation of HorizonX and Boeing NeXt, Boeing drafted new chapters in its innovation history.

Starting with the HorizonX approach to fractional ownership, Boeing identified and invested in startups that offered opportunities to quickly gain knowledge and discover new capabilities.

Boeing NeXt increased financial commitments to the more promising companies that HorizonX nurtured and fostered a thriving culture of empowerment at Boeing that is alive and well today.

With the 2021 closures of HorizonX and Boeing NeXt, Boeing transitioned several projects to other divisions, applying lessons learned to developing business ventures and new Boeing programs.

“Word spread quickly after NeXt was launched,” said Nordlund. “Top aerospace engineering students coming out of college were lining up. The enthusiasm of this next generation is unmistakable, and we’re still benefiting from their continued contributions.”

Early NeXt teammates who remain a part of Boeing are now advancing in their careers and inspiring the next generation of engineers at the company.

“I believe NeXt and its legacy are contributing to a shift in thinking that’s developing at Boeing,” said Kunz. “We’re focusing on intentional learning and problem-solving. We’re empowering people, making sure they’re challenged.

“Because they know they have the support and guidance of leadership, they’re willing to constructively question decisions and processes. There are a lot more lively discussions at all levels about finding better ways to accomplish our goals. That’s a big deal.” IQ