Overview
- Vertical Aerospace’s Valo prototype, flown by chief test pilot Simon Davies at Cotswold Airport, completed the helicopter-to-airplane-to-helicopter transition Tuesday, April 14, under UK Civil Aviation Authority Design Organisation Approval oversight.
- The maneuver proves the hardest part of eVTOL flight, showing the aircraft can lift off like a helicopter, cruise on wings, then return to a hover for rooftop or vertiport operations on city-to-airport routes.
- Vertical is the second company worldwide to achieve a full piloted transition with a full-scale tiltrotor after Joby, and it is the first to do so under formal civil aviation DOA regulatory supervision.
- Following this result, the company plans a critical design review and the build of seven pre‑production aircraft in the UK for CAA and EASA compliance testing, with public flight demonstrations slated for the Farnborough Airshow in July 2026 and a certification target in 2028.
- Commercial momentum includes American Airlines’ conditional preorder for up to 250 aircraft with 50 delivery slots reserved, alongside a March equity raise of about $50 million and an in‑principle financing framework of up to roughly $800 million to fund certification and early production.