SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT Personal Electric Flight


UK start-up takes to the skies with its fully electric vertical take off taxi on a mission to make aviation personal, on-demand and carbon free.


S


eraph, an electric vertical take off and landing aircraft (eVTOL)


capable of carrying loads of up to 250kg, has taken its first demonstration flight. The prototype took to the air as summer drew to a close at Llanbedr Airfield in Wales, marking a new venture into personal electric flight. The idea was the


brainchild of Bristol start-up company, Vertical Aerospace, which has grown from its beginnings just three years ago into a team of more than 70 engineers and technical experts recruited from the aerospace and automotive industry in the UK. The Seraph was built as a test platform for new technologies and systems for integration into a fully electric VTOL aircraft for carrying passengers, a goal the company hopes to achieve as early as next year.


CERTIFICATION Already, the prototype has gained flight permission by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and the company is now working closely with global aviation regulators, including EASA, to achieve certification for commercial flight. For this to happen, Vertical Aerospace will begin with piloted air taxi services on city-to-city routes. Over time, as the technology and regulatory framework develops, it will expand the number of chartered routes served, introduce elements of autonomy, and ultimately, make completely on- demand air taxis a reality. The company has already begun the certification process for its next model, a passenger aircraft due to be unveiled next year.


PERSONALISED AND DECARBONISED Vertical Engineering’s aim is to make air travel personal, on-demand and carbon free. By combining aerospace engineering excellence with new automotive technologies, the company hopes to help decarbonise the trillion dollar commercial aviation industry and provide a new mode of city-to-city


10 /// Aerospace Test & Validation Vol 2 No. 2


passenger transport. The aircraft is capable


of carrying loads of up to 250kg and can reach speeds of up to 80km per hour. It features a unique passive cooling system and a customisable design, meaning the aircraft can be made larger or smaller and can be fitted with wheels or floats to facilitate water landings. With the Seraph, Vertical Aerospace’s team have developed concepts from their first aircraft and built in capabilities which will


❱ ❱ After extensive testing, the Seraph eVTOL prototype is expected to be transformed into a certified passenger carrying electric air taxi by next year


be critical for eVTOL personal aviation in the future. According to Stephen Fitzpatrick, Founder and CEO of Vertical Aerospace, the test flight in August was another major milestone on the path towards carbon free flight. “Air travel is one of the worst contributors to climate


change, and among the slowest sectors to decarbonise. Our mission at Vertical Aerospace is to make carbon free personal air transport a reality,” he says.


TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER The makers of Seraph are making extensive use of automotive industry expertise and has recently acquired F1 engineering consultancy, MGI, turning it into the “Vertical Advanced Engineering” division. The newly formed team will apply the latest technologies and agile processes from F1 to the development of eVTOL aircraft, including for example, best practice in building fast, light-weight composite structures. This will allow Vertical Aerospace to accelerate the development of its eVTOL technology, bringing superior certified aircraft to market more quickly. Mike Gascoyne, CTO of Vertical Advanced Engineering, has long believed that the technology and methodology of Formula 1 could be applied to a range of engineering challenges. “Joining the Vertical team will allow us to work on


cutting edge engineering programmes while continuing to provide world-class consultancy services to the wider engineering community,” says Gascoyne.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32