Mon, Aug 05, 2024
Vertical Continues Onward to Flight Testing
After Publicizing their Refreshed Permit to Fly from the United Kingdom's Civil Aviation Authority, Vertical Aerospace began its test flight campaign with a tethered launch of their electric eVTOL prototype.
The VX4 pulled it off perfectly, taking off and hovering for a short time as personnel parsed, checked, and assessed more than "20,000 flight and system parameters". The prototype pulled it off without a hitch, providing Vertical the data it needs to move on to the next phase of testing.
The UK CAA already gave approval to expand its flight envelope, putting the VX4 on the precipice of 'thrustborne flight testing', in Vertical's words. Those flights will consist of vertical takeoffs and low-speed maneuvers under its own power, checking the VX4's handling and controllability under its brute-force vertical propulsion (the 'thrustborne' phase) and more relaxed fixed-wing (the 'wingborne' phase) flight. After plenty of flight in an array of conditions, Vertical will assess the VX4's ability to pull off the hardest maneuver of all for a convertible VTOL aircraft - transitioning from vertical takeoff to horizontal cruise and back again. If all goes well there, then Vertical can actually put a living pilot in the cockpit, and get to testing with a human on the stick.
The CAA will have to grant approval for those yet, but Vertical seems to think they're doing just fine in keeping to their timetable.
“The first tethered flight of our new VX4 prototype is the result of 14 months of hard work – taking this advanced aircraft all the way from design, through to development and now into the air," said Vertical Aerospace CEO Stuart Simpson. "This moment is testament to the skill and commitment of hundreds of talented colleagues in our business who have made our VX4 aircraft the best eVTOL out there. “Everyone at Vertical Aerospace remains laser focused on achieving piloted transition as we continue to progress towards our ultimate goal of commercialisation and creating a new legacy for aviation.”
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