Advanced Air Mobility (eVTOL / Urban Air Mobility)   Europe   Aircraft Manufacturing (OEMs)   Aviation Safety & Regulation   Policy & Regulation  

Vertical Aerospace completes first piloted thrust‑borne transition of full‑scale Valo eVTOL

Vertical Aerospace has completed the first piloted thrust‑borne transition of its full‑scale Valo demonstrator, moving from vertical hover to wingborne cruise in a controlled test. The flight, conducted under UK CAA oversight in collaboration with EASA, advances the programme toward a 2028 certification target.

Discovered 2026-04-06T03:56:44.029501-07:00 | 2026-04-06T03:56:44.029501-07:00

Briefing

What Hype is tracking

  • The flight is the first piloted thrust‑borne transition for Vertical’s full‑scale Valo demonstrator, demonstrating the core hover‑to‑cruise mode that regulators require as part of type‑certification; Vertical says the test keeps its Valo certification timeline on track for 2028.

  • The milestone was completed under UK CAA oversight with CAA–EASA collaboration, signalling active European regulator engagement in eVTOL flight testing and certification processes.

  • This achievement comes as other OEMs progress into production‑conforming and integration testing, putting Vertical alongside peers moving toward certification and operational trials (see Joby’s flight‑testing milestone: source:0cfab48c-36b4-4e12-923f-9850eb6be992) and national pilot programmes for airspace integration (source:4c0d356d-0465-4f66-ac8e-d1a3e6f787de).

Reported By

autoevolution.com Aero-News Aviation Week hispaviacion.es belters.news eVTOL Insights
Sources Tracked
28
First Seen
2026-04-06T03:56:44.029501-07:00
Latest Update
2026-04-12T20:01:09.024474-07:00
Coverage
Aviation

Sources

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