Vertical Aerospace believes passionately in the power of electric flight to change the way the world travels because you shouldn’t have to sacrifice the planet you live on to get from A to B.

Founded by greentech entrepreneur Stephen Fitzpatrick in 2016, Vertical Aerospace has been disrupting the way aircraft are developed. Combining the rigour and discipline of aerospace with the pace and agility of F1 enables Vertical to develop cutting-edge electric aircraft.

VA-1X, Vertical’s flagship aircraft, is a piloted all-electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) which will carry four passengers for 100 miles at cruise speeds of 150mph. It is currently in development with flight testing taking place in 2021, followed by certification in 2024 with initial commercial services starting shortly afterwards.

Vertical Aerospace is already a global pioneer in sustainable aviation technologies, as one of only a handful of companies to have flown multiple full-scale eVTOL prototypes. They did this with UK Civil Aviation Authority approval.

2016

Vertical Aerospace is launched by Stephen Fitzpatrick, CEO of OVO, with the vision of decarbonising air travel using the best technology from the aviation, energy and automotive industries.

2017

A team of six engineers design and build the first demonstrator model, working closely with regulators and iterating the technology along the way.

  • First tethered flight

2018

Our first eVTOL aircraft was granted flight permission by the Civil Aviation Authority.

  • 30+ Engineers
  • POC first flight

2019

The first flight of our second aircraft, the Seraph, capable of carrying 250kg.

Vertical Advanced Engineering is acquired to apply F1 agility and technology to eVTOL aircraft.

  • 70+ Engineers
  • Vertical Advanced Engineering
  • Seraph first flight

2020

VA-1X is released to the market.

  • VA-1X
  • 100+ Engineers

FUTURE

We are working with EASA to gain Type Certification for our next aircraft, with safety at the forefront of all designs.

  • Working closely with regulators

Meet the team

The Vertical team has managed complex aerospace and automotive development initiatives and has an established track record in building innovative businesses.

Michael Cervenka

CEO
  • Two decades of civil and military aerospace experience at Rolls-Royce, leading gas turbine design, development, certification and service support
  • Reported to the Rolls-Royce group CTO, co-developed electrical strategy and led future technologies programmes

Mike Gascoyne

CTO
  • Motorsport veteran and former F1 tech director at Jordan, Benetton/Renault, Toyota and Lotus/Caterham
  • Founded MGI Engineering – now Vertical Advanced Engineering

Madhu Bhabuta

CIO
  • Seasoned CIO across multiple sectors including Aerospace, Defence, Insurance, Telecommunications and Healthcare
  • Successfully designed Rolls-Royce’s IT strategy and delivered game-changing IT capability for the Ministry of Defence and BT

Tim Williams

Chief Engineer
  • Over 34 years of aerospace experience with a proven track record leading agile teams in developing and delivering new products
  • 10 years as a Chief Engineer at Rolls-Royce, accountable for a wide range of combat, transport and helicopter engines

Eric Samson

Head of Engineering
  • With in excess of 29 years’ experience, Eric has a proven track record in holding various technical and leadership roles
  • At Jet Aviation, he was responsible for reorganising the engineering structure, implementing a growing range of engineering services and increasing EASA scope of approval

Claire Wilcox

Head of Finance
  • Previously served as Financial Controller for GKN Aerospace’s Global Procurement division
  • Experience managing green field business set-up & expansion

Paul Harper

Head of Airworthiness
  • 12 years at Airbus, serving as A380 UK Chief Airworthiness Engineer and Head of A321 Neo Wing
  • Previous experiences at QinetiQ and UK Defense Evaluation Research Agency

Limhi Somerville

Battery Systems Specialist
  • Leads eVTOL EuroCAE battery certification panel and sits on EASA eVTOL certification board’s battery division
  • Led Jaguar l-PACE battery development
  • PhD in Lithium Ion battery performance and aging at Warwick University

Lawrence Blakeley

Head of Powertrain
  • 16 years of aerospace experience in electrical architecture, installation and design
  • Led electrical installation of the Orbital satellite launching system, the Airbus A400M wing and Airbus A350 electrical systems re-architecting

Vic Terry

Head of Digital Systems
  • Extensive Systems Engineering and aerospace safety critical software expertise including to level A safety standards (DO-178B/DO-254)
  • Professional category technical lead at Dyson, developing internet connected devices and technologies