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Vertical Aerospace just notched a flight-testing milestone with a full-scale prototype of its six-passenger Valo eVTOL aircraft. On Monday, the UK-based company announced that it had completed a piloted transition flight, meaning the aircraft took off vertically like a helicopter and then accelerated horizontally until it transitioned into fully wingborne cruise flight.
The piloted transition test took place on April 2 at Cotswold Airport in southwest England, with Vertical chief test pilot Paul Stone at the helm, the company said. “From the moment the front propellers tilted, and the aircraft began to accelerate, the response was exactly as the simulation predicted—smooth, stable, and fully under control throughout,” Stone said in a company statement.
For the piloted transition test, “The aircraft took off vertically before the front propellers tilted forward, enabling a smooth acceleration into wingborne flight as the rear propellers stowed, followed by a conventional runway landing,” the company said. Now that Vertical has demonstrated a piloted transition from hover to cruise, the next feat will be to demonstrate the ability to decelerate from cruise and transition back into hover for a vertical landing. Vertical describes this as a “two-way” transition: taking off vertically, cruising on the wing, and then returning for a vertical landing without using a runway.
“The aircraft performed exactly as designed, transitioning smoothly and under full control—proving the core elements of Vertical’s distributed electric propulsion and tiltrotor technology at full scale, in real flight conditions,” said Vertical Aerospace chief engineer David King. “This is not yet final mission accomplished, but it is a pivotal technical proof point on our path to two-way transition.”
According to Vertical, the piloted transition represents “the most significant technical milestone in Vertical’s 10-year history” and “demonstrates the aircraft’s ability to perform one of the most complex challenges in aviation.” This milestone marks the latest step in a structured flight-test campaign that has progressed through tethered hover, thrustborne flight, and wingborne operations over the past two years. According to the company’s program outline, transition testing represents the final phase before full mission capability. Vertical uses a Permit to Fly regime to conduct each expansion of the flight envelope and submits detailed test data to regulators to support certification.
The successful piloted transition flight follows Vertical’s recent announcement of an agreement for up to $850 million in financing, which the company intends to use to support certification and commercialization. Vertical targets 2028 certification and entry into service for Valo, subject to regulatory approval. The company claims to have logged approximately 1,500 preorders for its Valo eVTOL aircraft from customers including American Airlines, Avolon, Bristow, GOL, and Japan Airlines.
