Aircraft
Vertical Achieves Piloted eVTOL Transition Flight
Valo prototype completes hover-to-cruise flight in key test
Vertical Aerospace’s Valo eVTOL prototype performs a piloted transition flight at Cotswold Airport
Vertical Aerospace’s Valo eVTOL prototype performs a piloted transition flight at Cotswold Airport on April 2, 2026.

Vertical Aerospace just notched a flight-testing milestone with a full-scale prototype of its six-passenger eVTOL aircraft. On April 6, the UK-based company announced that it had completed a piloted transition flight, meaning the aircraft took off vertically like a helicopter and then accelerated horizontally until it transitioned into fully wingborne cruise flight.

The piloted transition test took place on April 2 at Cotswold Airport in southwest England, and was made with Vertical's VX4 prototype. Vertical is now building the first examples of the six-seater Valo model that it unveiled in December.