Five on Friday: Vertical, ZeroAvia and Beta
In a must-have for any and all footage of mysterious or extraordinary phenomena, a grainy video appeared last week which appears to show Vertical’s VX4 aircraft cruising in wing-borne flight.
Up to now Vertical has only completed vertical take-off tests within the confines of its test base at Kemble airfield. However, yesterday’s footage posted on X shows what looks like Vertical’s aircraft flying beyond the airfield’s perimeter with a chase helicopter in pursuit.
According to Flight Global, data from Flightradar 24 for the period between 07:00-07:30 on May 22nd shows two helicopters departing Kemble, a Leonardo AW109 and a Robinson R44, the latter equipped for aerial filming. The rotorcraft performed a short circuit to the north of the airfield, landing shortly before 07:30.
Wing-borne, horizontal flight is the third of four phases of Vertical’s flight test programme. The company has been preparing for this phase with a series of high-speed taxi tests over the past few weeks.
Although the challenge of transition – the sequence of moving from vertical to horizontal flight – remains (phase four), the achievement the footage purports to show concludes a successful week for Vertical.
The company completed its second test-flight vehicle, while aircraft three arrived at its test centre ahead of final assembly. Also, the successful completion of wing-borne flight testing may unlock fresh funding for Vertical. Have a great weekend UFO/Bigfoot hunting.
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