Vertical Aerospace, based in the United Kingdom, has built a full-scale eVTOL technology demonstrator and recently announced the aircraft began flight testing in June. It’s the first of its type to complete a flight test in the U.K. The single-seat aircraft, which weighs about 1600 pounds, is controlled by a remote pilot. It has a range of 93 miles and a top speed of 186 MPH, according to The Daily Mail. The company says it has been working on the project since 2016 and has a staff of 28. The company also said it hopes to have an aircraft ready, with space for an on-board pilot and two passengers, to provide urban taxi service by 2022.
“If you consider that the busiest routes flying in and out of London are to Paris, London and Edinburgh, being able to fly to those cities without the need of a runway would offset the need to expand Heathrow,” company founder Stephen Fitzpatrick told the London Times. “We are investing in all the technology evolution taking place in aerospace but we are trying to apply that to something that’s real world and is possible to execute four years out,” he said. “We are not waiting for huge changes in existing regulations.” Fitzpatrick is the founder of Ovo Energy, an energy-supply company based in England.
