Vertical Aerospace (Vertical) has today completed the UK's first public demonstration flight of a full-scale wing tilt-rotor electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft at Farnborough International Airshow, marking a major milestone for UK aerospace and advanced air mobility.
Vertical Aerospace Valo eVTOL aircraft. Image Credit: Vertical Aerospace
Flown using propulsion blades designed in conjunction with NCC, the achievement highlights NCC's role as a key innovation partner, helping one of the UK's high-growth potential companies develop the technologies, manufacturing capability and supply chain needed to bring next-generation aircraft closer to commercial reality.
NCC worked alongside Vertical's engineering team to design the Gen 2 composite rotor blades flown on the full-scale prototype, and elements of the fuselage. Applying its expertise in composite design and industrialization required the teams to solve some of the program's toughest engineering challenges.
The prototype blades required a fundamentally new approach.They must lift the aircraft vertically before transitioning seamlessly into wingborne flight, while remaining lightweight, aerodynamically efficient and resilient to certification requirements such as bird strike. Drawing on 15 years of aerospace expertise, NCC engineers developed a novel blade architecture that builds structural performance into the design itself.
The program demonstrates NCC's ability to support aerospace innovation across the sector, from global OEMs to ambitious start-ups. Highlighting capability to take a design from concept through to rate-ready manufacture, NCC helped Vertical identify UK manufacturing partners capable of producing components at rate, contributing to a resilient domestic supply chain. Today, around 60% of Vertical's procurement spend remains in the UK, with around 30% invested in the South West.
Bristol and the wider West of England region is the UK’s leading aerospace cluster, worth over £2.9 billion, and has been an important ingredient in this success. NCC's deep engineering expertise is a significant asset in the region's continued leadership.
eVTOL is a new aircraft category, and the UK's ability to design, industrialize and supply its critical components will shape who leads advanced air mobility globally. Advanced air mobility is a priority growth area within the UK's Industrial Strategy and Advanced Manufacturing Sector Plan, with government support channelled through the Future of Flight program. The full-scale prototype program shows what that looks like in practice: combining innovative aircraft design with advanced engineering expertise and UK manufacturing capability to accelerate commercialization while helping high-growth companies scale.
Richard Oldfield, CEO, NCC, said: "The successful public flight of the Vertical Aerospace full-scale prototype is a landmark moment for UK aerospace, built on British engineering. Supporting high-growth companies like Vertical is how the UK secures its leadership in next-generation aviation. NCC de-risks novel engineering that turns ambitious start-ups into globally competitive manufacturers. Vertical is proof.”
Founded in Bristol in 2016, Vertical Aerospace achieved unicorn status – becoming a privately valued company worth more than $1 billion – as it grew into one of the UK's highest-growth potential companies, pioneering the development of electric aircraft for the emerging advanced air mobility market. The full-scale prototype validates the core aerodynamic and flight control technologies that underpin the design for its successor VALO.
As one of the UK's most high-profile unicorns in recent years, the company’s rapid growth, major industry partnerships and NYSE listing in 2021 make it an exemplar of the kind of high-growth business that the UK innovation ecosystem is designed to produce. Its successful public demonstration flight at Farnborough is an important milestone for both the company and the wider UK aerospace sector, demonstrating how collaboration across the UK's innovation ecosystem – including innovation partners such as NCC - can turn ambitious ideas into commercial reality.
The eVTOL next gen 2 blades can be viewed at Farnborough International Airshow, NCC and West of England Mayoral Combined Authority stand 1120F, Hall 1.