Cash-Burning Air Taxi Firm Plans Flight Tests Before July Show
A Vertical VX4 eVTOL flying taxi on the Vertical Aerospace Ltd. stand at the 2022 Farnborough International Airshow in Farnborough, UK.
Photographer: Jason Alden/BloombergVertical Aerospace Ltd. said it wants to begin flight tests of its new air taxi prototype ahead of a public display at the Farnborough Air Show this summer, setting up a tight deadline to meet the schedule as it continues to burn through cash.
The company said in a shareholder letter and annual report that it plans to complete final assembly of its VX4 prototype in coming weeks and move to flight testing ahead of the air show in July. It had initially targeted early 2024 to build the prototype following the crash of an earlier model, though the process has taken longer due to the advances in technology, a spokesman said.