At Wisk, our mission is to build, certify, and fly the first electric, autonomous eVTOL. But before our full-scale Generation 6 aircraft takes to the skies, critical testing is done on our subscale aircrafts, which Simon Ang Li, Senior Controls Engineer at Wisk refers to as “flying testbeds.”
Simon leads our subscale aircraft program in Hollister, CA. While these aircraft are smaller than our full-scale Gen 6, they serve a significant purpose. As Simon describes, they allow his team to “fly the software in real-world environments and experience real uncertainties and noise.” This kind of testing provides insights that simulations simply can’t match, ensuring our control laws are validated in a range of real conditions before flying on Gen 6.
Simon’s team focuses on the flight control laws, which are the part of the software that determines how the aircraft reacts to high-level navigation commands. “It’s about translating those commands into real-world movements,” he explains. “Making sure the propellers and control surfaces respond exactly as needed to get the aircraft where it needs to be.”
Simon’s journey to Wisk is rooted in a lifelong passion for aviation and a strong academic background. Before joining Wisk in 2019, he studied Aeronautics and Astronautics at Stanford University, where his academic advisor happened to be one of the founding members of the company that would eventually become Wisk.
“I knew a lot about what Kitty Hawk back then was doing,” Simon recalls. “One of the projects that was really interesting was Cora, which eventually was Gen 6. I came to visit one day and we saw the aircraft and the operations, and I thought, that is something I would really love to work on after I graduate.”
Simon is also a private pilot, combining technical expertise with a personal love for flying. This unique perspective helps him bridge the gap between the pilot’s seat and the autonomous systems he’s building. “General aviation is my hobby,” he shares. “So working on Gen 6 control laws is one of the ways that I hope to bring the joy of flight to everyone else around the world.”
For Simon, autonomy is the key to unlocking a new era of aviation. He believes it will make flying more widespread, reduce costs, and significantly enhance safety. “I think Wisk is special in the sense that it is focusing on autonomy,” he says. “Autonomy is one of those ways that will allow aviation to be more widespread, more accessible to people. It will bring down the cost of flying, and it will increase safety.”
Through the work of Simon and his team on our subscale aircraft, Wisk is translating complex control laws into real-world performance, helping lay the foundation for safe, autonomous flight at full scale.