Vertical Aerospace has achieved what its CEO Stuart Simpson described as the “most significant technical milestone” in its history after the air taxi developer became the first outside the US to execute a piloted two-way transition flight.
On 14 April 2026, at its spiritual home at Cotswold Airport (GBA), Chief Test Pilot Simon Davies successfully switched Vertical Aerospace’s electric vehicle takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft from helicopter mode to plane mode and back again.
Only Joby Aviation has achieved this feat before and is an essential part of what makes electric air taxis possible with eVTOL aircraft requiring the capability to operate in densely populated areas much like a helicopter.
“Transition flight validates the technology which will enable Valo, Vertical’s commercial aircraft, to take off vertically from a city-center vertiport or rooftop with passengers, fly efficiently at speed like an airplane, and land vertically at its destination – comfortably, quietly and without a runway,” said Vertical.
The developer added: “This unlocks planned real-world routes such as Canary Wharf to Heathrow or JFK to Manhattan, making them operationally and commercially viable.”
Vertical described Davies’ successful flight as “transitioning from vertical take-off to wingborne cruise and back to vertical landing – all in one continuous flight” and follows on from the developer’s first piloted thrustborne transition on April 2, 2026.
“Full piloted transition is the most critical and complex challenge in eVTOL development, and we’ve achieved it under more rigorous regulatory oversight than anyone in the category. We’re not just participating in this industry – we are helping to define it. Our focus now is on executing our roadmap and bringing certified electric flight into commercial service,” said Simpson.
As well as becoming the second company globally to complete a two-way piloted transition flight in a full-scale tiltrotor eVTOL, Vertical was also the first to do so under civil aviation Design Organization Approval regulatory oversight of the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
Mission Accomplished: Full Transition Complete.#verticalaerospace #totheskies pic.twitter.com/grNDl9okez
— Vertical Aerospace (@VerticalAero) April 16, 2026
The CAA is working in close collaboration with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) toward Type Certification of the Valo eVTOL.
With all phases of flight now proven Vertical is moving into the next stage of certification testing.
This will include critical design review, when the aircraft design is locked, followed by the manufacturing of seven pre-production Valo aircraft in the UK for compliance and verification testing with the CAA and EASA.
Steve Johnson, Vice Chair and Chief Strategy Officer, American Airlines, said: “As both an investor and long-term supporter of Vertical Aerospace, we share a clear ambition to make safe, scalable, and sustainable eVTOL flight a reality, and today’s news is a foundational step toward that end. Together, we’re not just imagining the future of travel, we’re actively building it.”
UK Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Peter Kyle, said: “This is a fantastic milestone not only for Vertical, but for the UK’s position in the future of aerospace as we continue to lead the way on zero emission flight.”
He added: “Through our Industrial Strategy and the Aerospace Technology Institute we’re backing companies like Vertical who are demonstrating the kind of innovation, engineering excellence and export potential that can keep Britain at the forefront of the global aerospace industry and create high-skilled jobs for local people.”
Vertical Aerospace is targeting certification of Valo in 2028.