Kitty Hawk, the electric flight startup backed by Google co-founder Larry Page, unveiled its third aircraft on Thursday. Heaviside, which is abbreviated to HVSD, is roughly 100 times quieter than a helicopter, and it can travel the 55 miles from San Jose to San Francisco in about 15 minutes, the company says.
TechCrunch, which got an early look, describes the aircraft as about one-third of the size of a Cessna airplane. It has a range of “about 100 miles,” the publication states, though Kitty Hawk is mum on technical specs around the aircraft’s battery and powertrain. All we really know is that the orange-and-black vehicle has eight rotors to help power its vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) abilities.
The lack of noise while in…