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Vertical Aerospace has completed a full transition flight with a pilot on board under rigorous regulatory scruitiny. The UK’s eVTOL contender, Vertical Aerospace, has completed a milestone two-way transition flight, marking significant progress towards certification of its aircraft.
The company revealed today that on 14 April, Chief Test Pilot Simon Davies completed a full two-way transition, taking off vertically like a helicopter, transitioning to wingborne cruise, then back to vertical for landing.This makes Vertical Aerospace only the second eVTOL company in the world to have completed this manoeuvre, and the first in Europe.
Slowly but steadily, Vertical has been working towards its first piloted transition flight, having completed a one-way transition at the beginning of April.Although Vertical is not the first to complete a two-way transition – Joby did that in April last year – it is the first to have completed this milestone under Design Organisation Approval (DOA) oversight with the UK CAA.
This means the flight was done within the certification framework, so that it actually counts towards getting the aircraft approved for flight.Under CAA oversight and a DOA, every flight is properly instrumented and recorded, traceable and audited, and conducted in accordance with agreed certification plans. The regulator can use the data and results later on, rather than asking Vertical to redo the tests.
While other eVTOL manufacturers are working closely with regulators, including the FAA, Vertical is approaching its development with a certification-first mentality. Choosing to undertake test flights with regulatory scrutiny gives the company an extra layer of credibility and puts it somewhat further ahead in terms of bringing Valo to market.
Full piloted transition is the most critical and complex challenge in eVTOL development, and we’ve achieved it under more rigorous regulatory oversight than anyone in the category,” explains Stuart Simpson, CEO of Vertical. “We’re not just participating in this industry – we are helping to define it.
