eVTOL Discussion

This is kind of different.

Vertical Aerospace is not only looking to develop the VX4 for the commercial market but they are also broadening their horizons in targeting military applications. Vertical has a prototype at the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) show this year (currently going on July 18-20th) showing it off to the Royal Air Force. Vertical flew the aircraft from its test facility at Cotswold Airport to the Royal Air Force’s Fairford base. This is said to be the world’s first airport-to-airport piloted flight by a “winged tiltrotor eVTOL designed for commercial service.”

The flight to the Air Force base was approved by the UK Civil Aviation Authority and ran the distance peaking at 100-knots and flying for 15 nautical miles at around 1,800-feet.

Jetson One.

Another one with them.

Vertical Aerospace announced a long-term strategic partnership with Aciturri Aerostructures to build the airframe for Vertical’s electric and hybrid-electric eVTOL aircraft VX4. Under the partnership agreement, Aciturri will supply the entire airframe, including the wing, empennage, pylons and fuselage, of both the pre-production and, subject to certification, certified VX4 that will enter into service. In addition, Aciturri will also have engineering responsibility for several structural components and will provide concurrent manufacturing engineering for the airframe programme, providing the conditions for the VX4 to be built efficiently, reliably, and at scale.

Fly Now and their single person air taxi.

Another one with the Jetson One.

EHang.

Jetson ONE in action again.

For Advanced air mobility aspirations to advance the whole picture needs to be filled-in, tested, understood and executed. Simply developing and certifying eVTOL aircraft for the AAM space is not enough. The eVTOLs need to be integrated into actual aviation, there needs to be the relevant airport/vertiport infrastructure, ATC rules, charging, interactions between regular aircraft etc. To this end, Louisiana transportation officials on recently launched an advanced air mobility (AAM) test program at Houma-Terrebonne Airport, where emerging aircraft will eventually operate alongside the airport’s existing helicopter and fixed-wing traffic. The LIFTOff Louisiana initiative is intended to provide the FAA with operational data as it develops standards for integrating new aircraft into the National Airspace System. Houma-Terrebonne is a major hub for offshore helicopter operations. Aircraft developers BETA Technologies and Elroy Air are participating in the program alongside operators Bristow Group and Metro Aviation. Initial work will focus on mapping routes and evaluating surveillance, weather and operating procedures before flight activity expands.

BETA Technologies posted a $149 million quarterly loss. $148.8 million net loss for the second quarter of 2026, compared with an $80.4 million loss during the same period last year. The electric aircraft developer generated $14.7 million in quarterly revenue, up from $6 million a year earlier.