Vertical Aerospace

Vertical Aerospace Ltd. is an aerospace manufacturer based in Bristol, England. It designs and builds zero emission, electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) electrically powered aircraft.[2]

Vertical Aerospace Ltd.
TypePublic
NYSE: EVTL
IndustryAerospace, Advanced Air Mobility
Founded2016 (2016)
FounderStephen Fitzpatrick
HeadquartersBristol, England, UK
ProductseVTOL aircraft
Number of employees
330 (2022)[1]
Websitewww.vertical-aerospace.com

History

2016

The company was founded in 2016 by Stephen Fitzpatrick, an ex-Formula One team owner, and founder and CEO of OVO Energy.[3]

2018

The company flew its first prototype aircraft – an electrically powered quadcopter that weighed 750 kg (1,650 lb), named VA-X1[4] – in June 2018 at Cotswold Airport, Kemble, Gloucestershire.[5][6][7] The aircraft, which was unmanned and remotely controlled, is capable of vertical take-off and landing (VTOL)[8] and has four electric engines, each inside a ducted fan.[9]

2019

In 2019, the company became Honeywell's first eVTOL customer, buying their fly-by-wire aircraft control systems for a future Vertical Aerospace aircraft, the VA-X4.[10] Further in 2019 they launched their second aircraft, VA-X2, making them the first company in the world to release flight footage of an electric VTOL aircraft capable of carrying 250 kg (550 lb).[11] 2019 was also the year the company appointed its President, Michael Cervenka, former Head of Future Business Propositions at Rolls-Royce.

2020

In April 2023, Tim Williams joined Vertical Aerospace. Later in 2020, the company announced the VX4, a significant departure from the company’s previous multicopter design.[12] They also established Vertical Advanced Engineering, in order to apply technologies and agile processes from F1 to the development of eVTOL aircraft.[13]

2021

In January 2021, they joined a consortium of urban air mobility and aviation companies to work with the Civil Aviation Authority as part of its Future Air Mobility Regulatory Sandbox. The company announced that they would be partnering companies like Skyports Limited, Atkins, a member of the SNC-Lavalin Group, and the West of England Combined Authority.[14][15]

Also in February 2021, the company announced it was partnering with Solvay S.A. for the development of the composite structure of its vehicle.[16] In March, the company announced it was partnering with Rolls-Royce for the development of its electrical power system.[17]

In May 2021, former Airbus CEO Urban Mobility, Eduardo Dominguez Puerta joined Vertical Aerospace as Chief Commercial Officer. In June 2021, it was announced that the company would merge with Broadstone Acquisition Corp, a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC), founded by Hugh Osmond.[18] Additionally, the company announced that it would float on the NYSE.[19]

In June 2021, the company was exploring a flying taxi service as part of a partnership with Virgin Atlantic.[20] and American Airlines announced a pre-order of up to 250 aircraft with an option for an additional 100.[21]

The company originally stated a goal of commercial flight by 2022.[22][23][24] In its most recent announcements, it appears to be targeting 2024.[12]

In December 2021, the company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)[25] following the SPAC merger with Broadstone Acquisition Corp under the ticker EVTL.[26]

2022

In January 2022, the company appointed Avolon's Dómhnal Slattery as Vertical Chairman.[27] In the period between 2020 and 2022, under the leadership of Chief Engineer, Tim Williams, Vertical Aerospace successfully designed, built, and flew the VX-4 prototype aircraft. This achievement marked a historic moment in the aerospace industry, as it was the first of its kind – a new technology, electric-powered aircraft – to be created in the United Kingdom in living memory.

VX4

The VX4 is claimed to be a piloted, zero emissions electric Vertical Take Off and Landing (eVTOL) vehicle. The VX4 is claimed to be capable of travelling over 200 mph (320 km/h), with a range of over 100 miles (160.9 km) and capacity for 4 passengers, and a pilot.[28] The proposed aircraft is intended to operate in and out of cities and other confined locations, The VX4 is claimed to be 100 times quieter and safer than a helicopter.

It would rely on its fixed wing for lift during most of flight. This shift follows a broader move across the eVTOL industry towards wing-borne lift + cruise and vectored thrust concepts, due to the efficiency gains wing-borne lift offers during the cruise portion of flight.[29]

The aircraft accomplished its first takeoff and landing while tethered to the ground in September 2022.[30] The aircraft has orders from American Airlines, Virgin Atlantic and AirAsia, among others.[30]

In July 2023, the VX4 successfully completed an unmanned test flight at Kemble Airport, Cotswold UK. The aircraft demonstrated its capabilities by lifting off, hovering, flying, and landing solely through the thrust generated by Vertical's proprietary battery packs.[31] The only prototype was damaged during uncrewed flight testing on 9 August 2023 at Cotswold Airport. The company attributed the accident to a fault with the propeller fitted, but said it was an older design that had since been replaced.[32][33][34]

Partners and investors

In June 2021, the company teamed up with American Airlines, Avolon, Rolls-Royce, Honeywell and Microsoft's M12 as partners and investors. The partners and investors enable an expected path to certification in 2024, de-risk execution, allow for a lean cost structure, and production at scale. Other partners include GKN Aerospace and Solvay.

The company's partnership with American Airlines, Avolon, and Virgin Atlantic will see forward sales under pre-orders for up to 1,000 aircraft.[35]

References
  1. "Vertical Aerospace Ltd. 2022 Annual Report (Form 20-F)". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 22 March 2023.
  2. "Vertical Aerospace to go public in $2.2 billion SPAC deal". Reuters. 11 June 2021. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  3. "VERTICAL AEROSPACE LTD". Companies House. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  4. "POC". Vertical Aerospace. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  5. Lyon, John (13 September 2018). "The UK's Flying Car Is All Electric Under the Bonnet". Robb Report.
  6. "Watch a test flight of Vertical Aerospace's flying taxi". Aerospace Testing International. 11 September 2018. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  7. "Vertical Aerospace Flies eVTOL". AVweb. 12 September 2018. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  8. "Energy Company CEO Leads Successful U.K. Test of Flying Taxi". Bloomberg. 10 September 2018.
  9. "This 28-person startup took a big first step towards launching a nationwide flying taxi service by 2022". Business Insider. 10 September 2018.
  10. "Vertical Aerospace becomes Honeywell's first eVTOL partner – Vertical Aerospace". www.vertical-aerospace.com. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  11. "Seraph". Vertical Aerospace. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  12. "Vertical Aerospace Reveals 'VA-1X' Air Taxi, Targets 2024 for Commercial Operations". Aviation Today. 26 August 2020. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  13. "About Us". Vertical Advanced Engineering. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  14. "Eve-led aviation consortium joins UK Civil Aviation Authority to develop Urban Air Mobility Concept of Operations". TravelDailyNews International. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  15. Constant, Sophia (26 January 2021). "Skyports project awarded government grant funding as part of Future Flight Challenge". Skyports. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  16. "Vertical Aerospace partners with Solvay for VA-1X composite structure". evtol.com. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  17. "Rolls-Royce set to power Vertical Aerospace's all-electric aircraft". www.rolls-royce.com. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  18. Hosking, Patrick. "Vertical Aerospace boss is reaching for the skies with $2.2bn Spac merger". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  19. "UK air taxi firm Vertical Aerospace to float on New York stock market". the Guardian. 11 June 2021. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  20. "Virgin Atlantic explores 'flying taxi' partnership". BBC. 11 June 2021.
  21. "American Airlines could pay $1 billion for up to 250 eVTOLs to fly travelers over congested cities and highway traffic". 11 June 2021.
  22. "Vertical Aerospace makes 'flying cars' with more grounded aspirations". The Verge. 10 September 2018.
  23. "The UK has its first flying taxi, but don't expect any rides just yet". Wired. 10 September 2018.
  24. "Electric air taxi prototype makes flight debut". newatlas.com. 11 September 2018.
  25. "Vertical Aerospace lists on New York Stock Exchange". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  26. "Bloomberg - Vertical Aerospace Lists on NYSE Following Merger with Broadstone Acquisition Corp". Bloomberg.com (Press release). 16 December 2021. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  27. Burke-Kennedy, Eoin. "Avolon's Slattery engaged as advisor to electric aviation pioneer Vertical". The Irish Times. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  28. "Virgin Atlantic explores 'flying taxi' partnership". BBC News. 11 June 2021. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  29. "Is There Room for Multicopters in Electric VTOL?". Aviation Today. 31 August 2020. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  30. "Vertical Aerospace's XV4 eVTOL Flies for the First Time". SimpleFlying, September 26, 2022 (accessed on MSN.com). Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  31. Svenson, Adam (19 July 2023). "Vertical Aerospace Completes Successful Test Flight of VX4 eVTOL". AIR SPACE News. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  32. O'Connor, Kate (10 August 2023). "Vertical VX4 eVTOL Suffers Incident During Flight Testing". AVweb. Archived from the original on 11 August 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  33. Philip, Siddharth Vikram (11 August 2023). "Air-Taxi Startup Vertical to Pause Flight Tests After Crash". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on 11 August 2023.
  34. O'Connor, Kate (31 August 2023). "Vertical Aerospace Cites Propeller Fault In eVTOL Flight Test Accident". AVweb. Archived from the original on 1 September 2023. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  35. Dawkins, David. "Electric Flying Taxi Start-Up Likely To Make Founder A Billionaire After SPAC Merger". Forbes. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
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