100×100-foot test site will validate precision landing technologies, inform FAA vertiport guidance, and advance autonomous flight procedures
Wisk Aero announced the groundbreaking of a new state-of-the-art vertiport at Hollister Municipal Airport in California. The facility is one of the first public airport vertiports designed to support both piloted and autonomous operations in the United States.
Located alongside Wisk’s existing flight test facilities in Hollister, the 100-foot by 100-foot vertiport serves as a dedicated testbed to evaluate terminal area flight procedures, collect real-world operational data, and prove out precision landing technologies. Data gathered from test flights at the site will feed directly into key regulatory and industry initiatives, including the FAA’s eVTOL Integration Pilot Program (eIPP) and the ongoing refinement of the FAA Vertical Lift Infrastructure Advisory Circular.
Designed to existing FAA vertiport standards, the new infrastructure features a modular, deployable layout constructed with steel elevated structures, integrated solar panels, power banks, and taxiway connectors. Its relocatable template allows the platform to be deployed across various operational environments, including future eIPP flight testing in Texas.
“Breaking ground on this vertiport at Hollister Municipal Airport is a big moment for Wisk, AAM, and autonomous aviation,” said Annie Cheng, Senior Program Manager, Operational Integration and Testing, at Wisk. “By testing autonomous and piloted operations on an actual public airport, we are bridging the gap between advanced aircraft development and real-world infrastructure. The data and operational learnings generated here will directly feed into our autonomy stack and help shape the FAA’s foundational standards for future vertiport operations, moving autonomous air taxis significantly closer to commercial readiness.”
Engineered as a test and data-collection site that meets existing FAA vertiport standards, the vertiport enables Wisk to evaluate advanced landing technologies under nominal conditions, missed approaches, and GPS-denied environments. Wisk-developed transceivers installed directly on the pad will improve reduced and zero visibility operations across all VTOL aircraft – including traditional helicopters, other eVTOLs, and Wisk’s 6th Generation air taxi – while initial surrogate flights and subsequent autonomy testing generate learnings to continuously refine Wisk’s autonomy stack for future commercial service.
The project was made possible through close collaboration among key local, state, and federal stakeholders.
