Hi all!
Join us today as we share our H1 2026 Business Update at 08:30 am ET (13:30 BST) via the webcast here: https://events.q4inc.com/attendee/222109240
- Lily
Ahead of the Farnborough International Airshow next week, today we're sharing a business update highlighting the progress we've made across the first half of 2026.
It's been one of the most significant periods in Vertical Aerospace's history, including:
- Multiple successful piloted transition flights.
- An expanded Permit to Fly from the UK Civil Aviation Authority for our first public demonstration flights.
- Continued progress on our hybrid-electric aircraft programme.
- Expansion of our manufacturing capabilities and supplier ecosystem.
- Continued progress towards certification and entry into service.
As we prepare for Farnborough, we're looking forward to demonstrating the momentum behind our programme and discussing the next chapter for Valo with customers, partners, investors and the wider aerospace community.
Starting the week off with another transition flight 🤝
Hi all!
Great news today - we completed our first Wingborne flight on our third prototype today ✈️
Our third test pilot, Tim Eldridge completed another flight this morning on our latest prototype!
Join us on Friday for our Reddit AMA with Chief Engineer, David King, and get your engineering questions answered
Join us next Friday, 29th May, for our AMA with Vertical's Chief Engineer, David King. Do you have any engineering or technical questions regarding the flight test programme, transition dynamics, or flight performance characteristics? Now's your chance to ask them.
We’ll post at 13:00 BST (08:00 EDT / 05:00 PDT) for you to submit your questions which David will answer in real time.
See you then.
Join us next Friday, 29th May, for our AMA with Vertical's Chief Engineer, David King. Do you have any engineering or technical questions regarding the flight test programme, transition dynamics, or flight performance characteristics? Now's your chance to ask them.
We’ll post at 13:00 BST (08:00 EDT / 05:00 PDT) for you to submit your questions which David will answer in real time.
See you then.
Last week, Vertical Aerospace CEO Stuart Simpson had the privilege of meeting His Majesty King Charles III during the State Visit to the US, at an event in New York bringing together leading UK and US business figures.
Given His Majesty’s long-standing passion for sustainability, Stuart jumped at the opportunity to introduce him to Valo and share Vertical’s mission to make air travel cleaner, quieter and more sustainable.
A special thank you to Kyle Clark, CEO of BETA Technologies for capturing the moment. A little friendly competition in advanced air mobility - but plenty of shared belief in the future of sustainable aviation.
The AMA is live! Submit your questions below for our Chief Test Pilot Si Davies to answer.
The AMA will end the session at 16:45 GMT (12:45 EDT / 9:45 PDT)
>Thank you all for your questions, it was great chatting with you and look forward to doing this again soon - Si
Join us tomorrow at 16:00 GMT (12:00 EDT / 09:00 PDT) where Simon Davies will be answering your questions about everything from flight testing to flying the VX4.
Keep an eye out for our post tomorrow to get involved!
To the skies.
Join us next Friday, 1st May, for our AMA with Simon Davies. Have questions about the flight test programme, transition, or what it’s like to fly the VX4? Now's your chance.
We’ll post at 16:00 GMT (12:00 EDT / 09:00 PDT) for you to submit your questions which Simon will answer in real time.
Looking forward to chatting with you then!
- Lily
Starting from runway 08, we performed a vertical take-off and accelerated into wingborne flight. At this point, the aft propellers were stowed and the aircraft climbed in wingborne mode, continuing to fly conventionally.
We then decelerated to the required speed to initiate the transition phase. After reconfiguring for transition, we continued to decelerate on final approach, gradually reducing altitude before completing a controlled vertical landing.