British eVTOL developer Vertical Aerospace unveiled a new full-scale VX4 prototype on July 18, 2024.
This aircraft’s eye-catching white color scheme (instead of Vertical’s signature dark grey) is not the only novelty compared to earlier Vertical Aerospace prototypes.
The new aircraft, which will soon be ready to start flight testing, boasts a 20% increase in its power to weight ratio. This allows the aircraft to reach a speed of 150mph (the cruise speed that Vertical Aerospace aims to certify the VX4 for).
Also worth noting is the fact that Vertical’s industrial partners are notably increasing their share of work in the VX4 program as the aircraft gets closer to its certification stage.
60% of the latest VX4 prototype is made of elements manufactured by different external suppliers, a steep increase from the 10% of previous iterations of this model. Companies such as GKN Aerospace, Honeywell, Hanwha, Molicel, Leonardo and Syensqo are participating in the project to varying degrees.
Two other key elements of the aircraft that are new in this iteration of the VX4 are the propeller and the battery pack.
The new VX4 carbon fiber composite propellers have been optimized for low noise. They are manufactured through a single-shot cure process, which, according to Vertical Aerospace, maximizes their integrity.
The battery pack has been developed and manufactured in-house at the Vertical Energy Centre, near Bristol, in the United Kingdom.
Vertical Aerospace has left behind its August 2023 mishap, which saw an earlier prototype crash during an unmanned test flight at Cotswolds Airport, in England.
On July 10, 2024, just a few days before Vertical Aerospace unveiled the new prototype, the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) expanded Vertical Aerospace’s Design Organization Approval (DOA), a decision that gets the British startup a step closer to starting its certification program.
At the same time, Vertical Aerospace is also working on another identical prototype, which will help it accelerate the certification flight test program.
