Vertical Aerospace has become the first non-US eVTOL developer to execute a two-way piloted transition flight, switching its full-scale tiltrotor aircraft from helicopter mode to wingborne cruise and back to vertical landing in one continuous operation. Chief Test Pilot Simon Davies completed the milestone on April 14, 2026, at Cotswold Airport in the UK.
This feat marks Vertical as only the second company globally to achieve such a piloted transition, and the first under Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Design Organisation Approval oversight. The flight validates the core technology for Vertical’s Valo air taxi, enabling vertical takeoffs from city-center vertiports, efficient high-speed cruise, and precise vertical landings without runways.
CEO Stuart Simpson called it the company’s most significant technical milestone to date. It builds on Vertical’s first piloted thrustborne transition on April 2, 2026, advancing toward 2028 Type Certification in collaboration with the CAA and European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
The achievement strengthens Vertical’s position in the global eVTOL market by demonstrating regulatory-compliant maturity outside the US, critical for commercial operations in Europe and beyond.