An aerospace and technology company recently conducted maiden piloted flight of its full scale prototype aircraft. Vertical Aerospace’s full-scale prototype is expected to accelerate flight testing, support piloted demonstrations and advance Vertical’s hybrid-electric aircraft programme.

The latest prototype will progress through all phases of piloted flight testing, including thrustborne, wingborne and transition flight.

The company also revealed that this is the final prototype before Critical Design Review (CDR), which will establish the certifiable aircraft design and pave the way for assembly of Vertical’s first pre-production aircraft.

New prototype is final aircraft to join Vertical’s flight test fleet

The new prototype is the final aircraft to join Vertical’s flight test fleet before the Company completes Critical Design Review (CDR), a major programme milestone that establishes the design baseline for certification. Following CDR, Vertical will begin preparations for assembly of its first pre-production aircraft as it continues toward certification and commercial service.

“Getting our latest prototype into flight testing is an important milestone because it allows us to learn faster in real world conditions and keep building momentum towards certification,” said Stuart Simpson, CEO of Vertical Aerospace.

“Expanding the flight test fleet will help us validate the aircraft more quickly, reduce risk, and move more efficiently towards bringing Valo into service.”

Latest aircraft doubles Vertical’s flight testing capacity

The company revealed that the latest aircraft doubles Vertical’s flight testing capacity and supports additional public demonstrations this year. Following the completion of all flight test phases – thrustborne, wingborne and transition flight – in its all-electric configuration, Vertical intends to retrofit this prototype for hybrid-electric flight testing.

The hybrid-electric variant is expected to support applications demanding greater range and payload capability across defense, logistics, and wider commercial sectors, according to a press release.

The prototype shares the same configuration as Vertical’s current full-scale aircraft, which has already completed all flight test phases. Vertical’s flight test programme is built around full-scale, piloted prototype aircraft with architecture, systems and flight characteristics closely aligned to the production-standard Valo aircraft, enabling the Company to validate the technologies, systems integration and flight models that will support certification, as per the release.

The new prototype shares the same configuration as Vertical’s existing full-scale aircraft, which has already completed all major flight-test phases. By using full-scale, piloted prototypes that closely resemble the production-standard aircraft, the company aims to validate key technologies, systems integration, and flight models required for regulatory certification.

The latest demonstration marks a significant step toward certification and commercial deployment of the company’s next-generation electric air taxi, Valo.

The Bristol-based company has secured approximately 1,500 pre-orders for the Valo aircraft from customers across four continents. Its customer base includes major aviation and leasing companies such as American Airlines, Avolon, Bristow Group, GOL, and Japan Airlines.

Waymo will happily relieve you of $30 a month in exchange for not a whole lot.

Members of the program, called "Waymo Premier," will have to pony up $29.99 per month.

Uber One, meet Waymo Premier.

The robotaxi operator announced a new $29.99-a-month premium tier for riders who want a more elevated and exclusive autonomous experience. The invite-only membership service is aimed at Waymo customers who use the service most frequently, offering them a number of perks, including priority pickups, 10 percent cash back on every trip, early robotaxi access in new cities, and up to five free cancellations a month.

Waymo Premier will be initially offered to select riders in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix, the company said. The program will scale to new cities as Waymo continues to expand; the company h …

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A KLM Cityhopper flight touched down in Hamburg, Germany, following a brief journey from Amsterdam. On paper, it looked like any other routine regional connection. In the fuel tanks, however, it was a completely different story.

The passenger aircraft carried a five percent blend of synthetic kerosene, known as e-SAF. This marks the first time a passenger flight has entered Germany powered by the next-generation fuel.

“Sustainably produced aviation fuels will play an important role in decarbonizing aviation in the coming years. Our infrastructure is fully ready, and we actively support airlines in the use of locally produced blends, including through targeted incentives,” said Christian Kunsch, Chairman of the Executive Board of Hamburg Airport.

Aviation’s green scale problem

The synthetic sustainable aviation fuel (e-SAF) was produced by Germany-based manufacturer INERATEC. Made by combining carbon dioxide, water, and renewable electricity, e-SAF can slash an aircraft’s lifecycle emissions by more than 90 percent. 

It was blended with conventional fossil kerosene by MB Energy before being successfully pumped into the aircraft at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport. The fuel is clean and safe, and it drops directly into standard jet engines without requiring any modifications to the plane or airport infrastructure.

It is a huge technical success, but a major warning about how hard it is to get the fuel. Aviation is under immense pressure to decarbonize. 

Yet, beneath the celebration lies an uncomfortable truth. Five years ago, KLM operated its very first pioneering e-SAF test flight to Madrid. For that journey, they managed to scrape together 500 liters of the synthetic fuel. For this flight to Hamburg? They could only secure 200 liters.

The numbers are moving backward.

“Today’s flight to Hamburg once again shows that flying on synthetic kerosene is technically possible. But the reality is that the availability of e-SAF lags far behind ambition,” said Marjan Rintel, CEO of KLM. 

While the technology works, the primary obstacle is scaling production to meet Europe’s strict mandate of a 1.2% e-SAF fuel blend by 2030, a target that current manufacturing falls drastically short of. 

This supply gap was highlighted by the complex, small-scale logistics required for this single flight, which relied on fuel produced by INERATEC in Frankfurt, blended by MB Energy, and flown out of Schiphol Airport.

High price

Why is it so hard to get? Money and red tape.

These two heavily restrict the mass adoption of synthetic kerosene, which remains more expensive than standard biofuel-based SAF and eight times pricier than conventional fossil fuels.

Furthermore, expanding supply is severely hindered by slow European environmental and construction permitting processes, making the development of large-scale production facilities a significant challenge.

Still, the partners behind the flight argue that the groundwork has to be laid now. Airport infrastructure is already fully capable of handling the fuel, and clean-tech firms say they are ready to produce it if the economic incentives align

“We are ready to deliver. Today’s flight, with our Chief Commercial Officer Maximilian Backhaus on board during a regular passenger service, clearly shows that power-to-liquid fuels are safe, available, and already operationally viable today. This is just the beginning of many applications we will see this year across various sectors,” said Tim Boeltken, Co-founder and CEO of INERATEC. 

Aviation has proven it can fly on clean air and electricity. Now, the industry just needs to find a way to make more than 200 liters of it at a time.

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European economy airline Ryanair is under investigation in the UK for charging parents mandatory fees to sit with their children. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it was looking into whether the seating fees, which may be charging parents for the airline to meet its child safety and disability‑related obligations, are "unfair" under consumer law.

Under Ryanair's terms and conditions, at least one parent or guardian is required to sit with children aged between 2 and 11 when they fly, which the airline calls a "mandatory family seat." This approach to seating imposes a fee - typically £8 (around $10) per flight, according to …

Read the full story at The Verge.