An innovative collaboration between Boeing engineers and Disney Imagineers first put autonomous cargo air vehicles – cloaked as X-wing Starfighters – in flight in 2019. In recent years, continuing partnerships have pushed the evolution of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicles to new heights and first flights.
As Boeing marked its centenary in 2016, leaders recognised 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 travellers 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 start-ups. This approach allowed Boeing to minimise financial risks and maximise learning at a speed and scale it had not 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 start-ups, 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 start-up Kittyhawk, explored electric transportation solutions. As those teams began to demonstrate true promise, Boeing realised 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 aeroplanes 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 money. NeXt teams had direct access to the vast resources and capabilities of the aeroplane manufacturer.
“When a start-up 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 programmes, 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 programmes. “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 is 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.
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.
Welcome passengers
As the collaboration between Kittyhawk and Boeing NeXt began to yield results, the partnership matured into an entity capable of revolutionising 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 revolutionise 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 travelling 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.
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 start-ups 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 programmes.
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.”
Issued by Boeing – By Paul Custodio
