- UK air taxi startup Vertical Aerospace scored a win for the eVTOL scene.
- In a world-first, its VX4 electric airplane prototype flew from one airport to another.
- The vertical take-off and landing aircraft isn’t ready for mass production yet.
You know what planes do–they fly from airport to airport. They’ve done that for a little over a century, so we take it for granted. But in the world of electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, which is still trying to figure out a lot of things, going from one airport to another is a big deal.
So much so that the first time an eVTOL did that was earlier this month. On July 16, Vertical Aerospace’s VX4 prototype completed the world’s first airport-to-airport flight by a full-scale, piloted winged tilt-rotor eVTOL designed for commercial service.
That’s a very long description of something that should be as simple as “plane flies and lands,” but here we are. The prototype, which is capable of taking off and landing vertically, took off like a conventional plane from the company’s test center at Cotswold Airport to the Royal Air Force Fairford station, which is used by the United States Air Force. The battery-powered aircraft flew 17 miles, during which it reached speeds of 115 miles per hour and an altitude of 1,800 feet.
Vertical Aerospace said this inaugural public flight was meant to showcase the VX4’s integration with real-world airport operations. “Flying the VX4 from airport to airport is a major milestone, and a powerful demonstration of the real-world capability of the aircraft,” said Simon Davies, Vertical’s Chief Test Pilot, who flew the full-scale VX4 prototype.
The electric eVTOL has a fixed-wing configuration with eight propellers. This enables a projected top speed of roughly 200 mph and a range of up to 100 miles on a full charge, while the cruising speed is 150 mph. Speaking of charge, Vertical Aerospace said it would use a CCS connector for DC fast charging the plane, but it has yet to offer charging specs.
The finished product was designed to accommodate one pilot and four passengers or cargo, depending on the configuration. With a maximum range of 100 miles, the VX4’s main service areas are in urban and regional areas.
Gallery: Vertical Aerospace VX4 eVTOL prototype
Earlier this year, Vertical Aerospace said that it had received approval from the UK Civil Aviation Authority for its Safety Management System and its incorporation in its Design Organisation Approval, but it’s worth noting that the VX4 aircraft still doesn’t have a Type Certification, so it cannot fly commercially yet.
This is the same hurdle that Joby Aviation and Archer Aviation, two other eVTOL startups, have yet to face. While the two U.S.-based startups have some certifications under their belts, the final and most important one has still not been issued yet.
