Vertical Aerospace’s Final Full-Scale Prototype Completes First Piloted Flight

Vertical’s latest full-scale prototype completes first piloted flight

British electric aircraft developer Vertical Aerospace has completed the first piloted flight of its latest full-scale prototype aircraft, marking the start of an expanded flight test campaign and doubling the company’s flight testing capacity. Vertical said the aircraft completed its maiden flight at its UK Flight Test Centre following the issuance of a new Permit to Fly from the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), after ground testing and aircr…

Vertical’s newest eVTOL prototype takes first piloted flight

Vertical Aerospace’s newest, and last, full-scale electric vehicle takeoff and landing (eVTOL) prototype has taken its first piloted flight. On June 9, 2026, Vertical Aerospace announced that test pilot Paul Stone conducted the flight at 08:49, local time, on June 5, 2026, at its Flight Test Center. With the additional aircraft, Vertical said the company would be able to “accelerate flight testing” and “expand” the campaign towards certification…

Vertical Aerospace’s second full-scale prototype makes first piloted flight

Vertical Aerospace today announced that its latest full-scale prototype aircraft has completed its maiden piloted flight at the Company’s Flight Test Centre in the UK, marking the start of an expanded flight test campaign. “The flight follows the issuance of a new Permit to Fly from the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) after extensive ground testing and aircraft validation activities,” said the company in a press release.  “Vertical Test Pilot Paul Stone conducted the flight at 8:49 BST on 5 June 2026. Meanwhile, the Company’s existing prototype continues transition flight testing, having completed multiple piloted transition flights. The new prototype is the final aircraft to join Vertical’s flight test fleet before the Company completes Critical Design Review (CDR), a major programme milestone that establishes the design baseline for certification. Following CDR, Vertical will begin preparations for assembly of its first pre-production aircraft as it continues toward certification and commercial service.” Stuart Simpson, CEO of Vertical Aerospace, said: “Getting our latest prototype into flight testing is an important milestone because it allows us to learn faster in real world conditions and keep building momentum towards certification. Expanding the flight test fleet will help us validate the aircraft more quickly, reduce risk, and move more efficiently towards bringing Valo into service.” According to Vertical Aerospace, the new prototype aircraft doubles the company’s flight testing capacity and supports additional public demonstrations this year. Following the completion of all flight test phases – thrustborne, wingborne and transition flight – in its all-electric configuration, Vertical intends to retrofit this prototype for hybrid-electric flight testing. The hybrid-electric variant is expected to support applications demanding greater range and payload capability across defense, logistics, and wider commercial sectors. “The prototype shares the same configuration as Vertical’s current full-scale aircraft, which has already completed all flight test phases,” said the company.  “Vertical’s flight test programme is built around full-scale, piloted prototype aircraft with architecture, systems and flight characteristics closely aligned to the production-standard Valo aircraft, enabling the company to validate the technologies, systems integration and flight models that will support certification.“ For more information www.vertical-aerospace.com (Image: Vertical Aerospace)

Vertical Aerospace’s Final Full-Scale Prototype Completes First Piloted Flight

Vertical Aerospace’s latest full-scale prototype aircraft has completed its maiden piloted flight at the Company’s Flight Test Centre in the UK, marking the start of an expanded flight test campaign. Test Pilot Paul Stone conducted the flight at 8:49 BST on June 5th, while the Company’s existing prototype continues transition flight testing, having completed multiple piloted transition flights. The flight follows the issuance of a new Permit to …