Vertical Aerospace completes VX4 eVTOL build, begins flight test program
Over the summer the composite VX4 prototype is to undergo an intensive flight program, including a series of ground tests, for its targeted 2025 entry into service.
Photo Credit: Vertical Aerospace
Vertical Aerospace (Bristol, U.K.) announced completed assembly and delivery of the full-scale composite VX4 electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) prototype this summer. In July, GKN Aerospace (Redditch, U.K.) delivered the aircraft’s electrical wiring interconnection system (EWIS) and integration expertise. Airframe assembly and EWIS installation was also completed at GKN Aerospace’s new Global Technology Centre in Bristol, integrating various parts delivered by the global supply chain. Next steps in the strategic collaboration will be manufacturing and integration of the wing and EWIS for the certifiable aircraft. Design and development activities have already started and are progressing, as Vertical’s VX4 is targeting entry into service in 2025.
“Building the VX4 requires great expertise and a pioneering spirit. Our partnership with GKN Aerospace, a leading global technology supplier, is providing the aerostructures and EWIS systems in the VX4, accelerating our development and signifying great progress for electric aviation as a whole,” Michael Cervenka, president of Vertical, says. “We are delighted with the support and expertise GKN has provided in helping us assemble the demonstrator aircraft in their world-class Global Technology Centre.”
See “Leonardo, Vertical Aerospace to jointly develop VX4 eVTOL carbon fiber fuselage”
As part of its intensive flight test program, Vertical has conducted a series of ground tests with the VX4 prototype, and is expected to begin flying the over the summer. The company has also secured concurrent validation of the VX4 between European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the U.K.’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) on the same SC-VTOL certification basis, which the company believes will enable rapid deployment of the VX4 across multiple markets.
Additional developments include securing 50 new pre-orders from business aviation operator Flying Group N.V. (Antwerp, Belgium); a new partnership with Babcock (London, U.K.) for emergency medical services and logistics application of the VX4 and a received commitment from American Airlines to make a pre-delivery payment to secure delivery slots for the first 50 VX4s of their conditional pre-order of up to 250 aircraft, with an option to purchase an additional 100 aircraft.
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