Concurrent CAA/EASA Certification Approved, New Regulatory Management Added as eVTOL VX4 Moves Along

Vertical Aerospace is trucking along with their certification efforts, adding a former EASA certification director to the company to lead regulatory engagement, and completing a bit of corporate housework in preparation for wider testing. 

They have obtained approval to concurrently validate their VX4 eVTOL aircraft with the EASA and the UK Civil Aviation Authority. That will allow it to be certificated to the UK's standards with minimal extra fuss, time, and cost, with both processes running simultaneously. Vertical eyes a release date in 2025 for both the UK and the EU. In their update, they remarked that the move will "also support swift validation of the VX4 by other international regulators", and legwork done by the company has shown promise in reaching a number of markets quickly. Project familiarization workshops run by Vertical with regulators from Japan, Brazil, and Singapore have led them to believe that they could be very early markets for the VX4, with some promise shown by the USA and FAA Certification. 

Vertical is "progressing rapidly" towards its 2025 target, having submitted its certification basis proposal using previously established EASA SC-VTOL certifications.  Vertical expects to have it approved by the CAA later this year. For certification, they have received notice that their 3 key nominated managers, each a Form 4 holder, have been accepted in their roles to grant Design Organisation Approval, roughly equivalent to the FAA's Organization Designation Authorization. Once granted, it will cover the scope required for the commercial passenger-carrying, fixed-wing VTOL. In their update, Vertical stresses that they could well be uniquely positioned, saying "this will be of the widest scope an eVTOL manufacturer will have received to date, giving Vertical a competitive edge when progressing towards Type Certification".

Their new addition to the Regulatory Affairs position, Trevor Woods, thanked his new corporate home. “I am delighted to join Vertical, the eVTOL manufacturer that, I believe, has the edge on its competitors. Its considerable in-house engineering expertise matched with its unrivaled industrial partnerships from proven tier-one aerospace suppliers such as Rolls-Royce, Honeywell, GKN and Leonardo lend significant momentum to its certification efforts. I, myself, am looking forward to flying in the VX4 at the earliest opportunity."

FMI: www.vertical-aerospace.com