An air taxi built by Irish-backed Vertical Aerospace passed a key milestone with a successful test of its ability to fly like a conventional aircraft, according to company chairman Dómhnall Slattery.
Founded by Belfast man Stephen Fitzpatrick, New York-listed Vertical Aerospace is developing electric vertical take-off and landing (EVTOL) aircraft at its base in Bristol in England.
The company recently demonstrated that its EVTOLs can take off, fly with a pilot and land using their wings, like conventional passenger jets, a key requirement imposed by regulators at the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
Mr Slattery, former chief executive of Irish aircraft leasing giant Avolon, said on Tuesday that Vertical Aerospace was the first EVTOL developer in Europe, “if not globally” to have passed this test.
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“You have to be able to prove that you can take off, fly and land conventionally,” he explained. “That’s a difficult thing to do. We are the first EVTOL to achieve this milestone with a pilot on board.”
Mr Slattery added that the successful test put the company in a unique position globally and kept it on track to meet its target of gaining full safety certification in 2028.
The CAA is working with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to certify the EVTOLs. According to Mr Slattery, the regulators have imposed “exactly the same standards” as those that apply to the Airbus and Boeing passenger jets on which most Europeans fly.
Its next stage is “transition”, that is moving from thrust-borne flight, like a helicopter, to wing-borne flight, like a plane, and back again. Vertical Aerospace aims to complete that phase later this year, said its chairman.
Vertical’s EVTOL, the VX4, is battery powered and designed to fly four passengers over short distances, making them ideal for providing quick transport in crowded cities.
One application is likely to be transporting passengers from airports to city centres. It has already drawn interest from airlines in Brazil and Turkey, home to “mega cities” São Paulo and Istanbul, which have busy airports.
Vertical is also developing a hybrid gas-electric version of the VX4 that will increase its range from 160km (100 miles) to 1,600km, and its payload to 1,000kg from 500kg.
That will open cargo and defence markets to the company. The range and ability to fly silently make it attractive for military use, while Mr Slattery said that several navies had expressed interest in the hybrid, which could be used for ship-to-ship or ship-to-land transport.
Mr Slattery’s old company, Avolon, is a shareholder in Vertical. It has an initial order for 500 of the electric VX4s, should they gain the necessary certification.
The company has a total of 1,500 such orders, which would take it into the middle of the next decade.
Avolon has placed its VX4s with GOL in Brazil, Gözen Holdings, owner of Freebird Airlines, in Turkey, and Japan Airlines among others.
Former Irish Aviation Authority and Eurocontrol chief executive Eamonn Brennan joined Vertical this year as an adviser to its board.
