Yet another company has unveiled a prototype electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, Electrek reported. The United Kingdom-based Vertical Aerospace revealed that its new VX4 aircraft is the most advanced eVTOL yet produced by the company, with a range of up to 100 miles on a single charge and top speeds of 150 mph.
A whole bunch of different companies have also entered the eVTOL space over the past few years, promising aircraft that, unlike existing planes and helicopters, do not generate tons of planet-overheating air pollution emissions by burning dirty energy.Â
These include California-based Archer Aviation, Czech company UDX, Dutch startup Electron Aerospace, California-based Joby Aviation, and several others — and each of these companies has one or multiple eVTOL prototypes in the works.
The drawbacks, however, are that none of these eVTOL prototypes have yet been able to achieve particularly large ranges, making them poor candidates to replace airplanes but good candidates to, for example, ferry people from urban centers to nearby airports.
Companies seeking to produce marketable eVTOLs have had to contend with those technological issues while also trying to gain approval from regulatory agencies such as, in the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration. Vertical said that it has begun a "mini certification program" with the U.K. Civil Aviation Authority to get a permit for its test flights.
"Our goal is to build the safest and most advanced aircraft in this new category of transport," said Vertical CEO Stuart Simpson, who echoed the goals of every eVTOL company. "With the new full-scale VX4 prototype, which has been built by combining our own world-leading technology with that from leading aerospace partners, we are well on the way to achieving that goal."
The reactions from Electrek commenters were mixed.
"I'd travel across country in a series of these over a normal plane for sure if given the option," one commenter wrote.
"Great news for the rich," another wrote.
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