Five on Friday: Vertical and Honeywell, Whisper and Wisk

Photography by Adam Gasson / Vertical Aerospace

With about three years of runway left before a planned type certification of its VX4 eVTOL aircraft, Vertical Aerospace has signed a new long-term agreement with Honeywell which covers the certification of VX4’s aircraft management and flight control systems.

Building on a six-year relationship that kicked off in 2019 when Honeywell signed as Vertical’s first eVTOL partner, the new strategic agreement could be worth $1bn if Vertical’s production targets are realised.

As part of its Flightpath 2030 strategy, the UK-based company plans to ramp up production to deliver more than 150 aircraft by 2030. Today, it has a pre-order book of about 1,500 units.

Honeywell has also been an investor in Vertical since 2021.

David Shilliday, vice president and general manager of Advanced Air Mobility at Honeywell Aerospace Technologies, told us: “There is great alignment in terms of what Vertical needs relative to safety and path to certification – and how Honeywell has developed our Avionics, Flight Controls and Inceptor offerings. Vertical has also been a great partner over the last six years in collaborating on ways to improve the Honeywell offering and improve the capabilities of the VX4 at the same time.”

Vertical has also chosen Honeywell’s newly designed inceptors for its production aircraft. Two of these hand controllers will be integrated into the VX4 cockpit to be used by the pilot to manoeuvre the aircraft by providing inputs to the flight control computer. Vertical confirmed it is working with Honeywell to finalise the optimal configuration for the aircraft.

Vertical has been maligned in recent times following a period of financial turbulence and uncertainty over its propulsion system supplier after the conclusion of its contract with Rolls-Royce last year. However, the deepening of ties with a global tier one powerhouse is a vote of confidence in the company and its aircraft programme.

Plus, it adds further weight to the argument that strategic partnerships with external suppliers are essential to get eVTOL aircraft flying.