There’s something interesting in the air around Crossville, Tennessee — and that’s meant very literally. The city in question is the home of Whisper Aero, a technology startup whose founders bring experience with the likes of NASA and Uber Elevate to the table. The company has started getting attention for one of the selling points of their company: creating technology that can keep a vehicle in the air that’s also — as the company’s name suggests — very quiet.
That isn’t the only reason Whisper Aero has been in the news lately, though. As Electrek’s Jo Borrás reports, the company recently received a $500,000 grant from the state it calls home in the hopes that its technology can help improve regional aviation across Tennessee.
Whisper Aero partnered with Tennessee Tech University on the grant, which was awarded by the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development. Using technology supplied by Whisper Aero, university faculty and students will engage in testing with the intent of, in the words of the state agency’s announcement, “[ensuring] the safe integration of engines, batteries and controllers.”
The Biggest Aircraft in History Is in Development
If you dream of planes the size of football fields, you’re in for a real treatThe overall goal of the initiative is to “[take] a step toward developing low-cost regional flights from small airports to serve rural Tennessee needs,” according to the announcement. That matches up with some of Whisper Aero’s goals; the company’s website features concepts for an aircraft cabable of carrying nine people in the air by 2030 — and a much larger version operational by 2050.
As Electrek reported, this isn’t the only high-profile grant Whisper Aero has recieved recently; last year, Whisper Aero announced it had a signed a contract with NASA for spacecraft fans.
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