Engines
Vertical Confirms Plans for Longer-range Hybrid-electric VTOL Aircraft
New version of VX4 aircraft will fly 1,000 miles with a 1,100-kg payload
Vertical Aerospace hybrid-electric propulsion system
Vertical Aerospace has developed a hybrid-electric propulsion system at its Energy Centre in Bristol, UK.

Vertical Aerospace has confirmed plans to develop a hybrid-electric version of its VX4 eVTOL aircraft. The new variant announced on May 12 is expected to offer longer range than the all-electric model, operating on routes of up to 1,000 miles (870 nm).

The UK-based company said that a second-generation version of its hybrid-electric propulsion system will be retrofitted to one of its VX4 full-scale prototypes and will be ready to start flight testing during the second quarter of 2025. It has been in development at the Vertical Energy Centre in Bristol for the past 18 months and includes the company’s proprietary batteries.