Vertical Aerospace has reported a net operating loss of £22million for the three months ended September 30, 2023, compared to a net operating loss of £19million in the prior year period.
As of September 30, 2023, Vertical had cash at bank and short-term deposits totalling £74million, which will be invested in the development of the company’s test and certification activities and in its people, systems and processes. Vertical reiterated its intention to raise additional capital in 2023 to “support its ongoing capital requirements, fund its future operations and remain as a going concern”.
Stephen Fitzpatrick, Vertical Founder and CEO, praised the company for the progress made with its certification, commercial, and testing programme. “The build of our second, more advanced full-scale prototype is on trac,” he said. “This prototype will deliver an exciting programme of flight tests and public demonstrations in the coming months, including realising our intention to fly at Farnborough 2024.”
Vertical confirms that the build of the second full-scale prototype VX4 is “underway and on track”. The second prototype is described as “more sophisticated” which includes more of Vertical’s certification aerospace partners’ technology, and will incorporate the next generation propeller design. Fitzpatrick confirmed that for the first time Vertical’s proprietary battery packs will be powering a prototype VX4. “Vertical is on track to complete the build of this second prototype in Q1 2024,” he said.
Vertical has announced its intensive flight test programme for 2024. Following the build and commissioning of the second prototype VX4, Vertical expects to receive its next Permit to Fly from the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), and progress through crewed thrustborne, wingborne and transition flight test phases. It is expected that a pilot will be onboard through all flight tests.
Vertical affirmed that it intends for the VX4 to fly at the Farnborough International Airshow, to and from Heathrow Airport, and from a Skyports vertiport.
In response to the findings into the crash of the prototype, Vertical’s final incident report to the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) on October 31 2023, validated the conclusion of its preliminary incident report, identifying the root cause relating to a propeller. “This early generation propeller had already been redesigned prior to the incident, with the issue fully resolved ahead of the next phase of testing,” said Vertical, adding that it expects the AAIB to deliver its report “in due course”.