An aircraft that made aviation history with its groundbreaking public demonstration at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2023 is now becoming part of the permanent collection at the EAA Aviation Museum. Wisk’s Gen 5 autonomous eVTOL (serial number 7), known as Cora, will be featured in the museum’s Innovations Gallery beginning this week. More than 200,000 people witnessed Cora’s flights at AirVenture 2023, where it became the world’s first fully autonomous, electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) fixed-wing aircraft to publicly demonstrate full transitions from hover to wing-borne flight. The demonstration marked a milestone in the emerging field of urban air mobility.
Developed as a self-flying, electric-powered air taxi, the Gen 5 aircraft served as a critical testbed for Wisk’s propulsion systems, avionics, software, and proprietary boom design. It also played a key role in evaluating autonomous flight within controlled airspace and airspace integration concepts.
At the EAA Aviation Museum, Cora will be displayed alongside other pioneering designs in the Innovations Gallery, including the prototype Taylor Aerocar, Opener’s Blackfly personal eVTOL, and full-scale reproductions of Voyager and SpaceShipOne. Interpretive signage, video, and interactive QR codes will provide visitors with a deeper understanding of the aircraft’s role in advancing autonomous flight. Wisk aircraft are also featured in several other prominent institutions, including the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center near Washington, D.C.
