The race to build flying vehicles that can land and
take off vertically is on across the world. For Britain, looking to make
headway is energy entrepreneur and one-time Formula 1 racing team owner,
Stephen Fitzpatrick.
His goal is to apply lessons he learned during his
time in Formula 1 in order to build an electric Vertical Take Off and Landing
aircraft, or eVTOL for short. The flying taxis will fly under the Vertical
Aerospace banner, aiming to offer short-haul, inter-city flights to multiple passengers
at once.
According to Fitzpatrick, who came on as a
short-term owner for Manor Racing in F1, these aircraft should arrive within
the next four years. During his time with Manor, he realized that many race car
advances also apply to aircraft – such as high-powered electric batteries,
hybrid power trains, lightweight structural materials, aerodynamics and so on.
Since 2016, Vertical Aerospace has hired 28 veteran
aerospace and technical experts from the likes of Airbus, Boeing, Rolls-Royce,
Martin Jetpack and GE. Unlike many other flying-car projects out there,
Vertical believes it can overcome regulatory and safety issues by building
piloted, fixed-wing aircraft that can capitalize on incremental, existing
innovations, reports Automotive News Europe.
The company is targeting some of the most congested
air corridors in the world using aircraft that don’t need runways and that can
also travel for up to 800 km. Tests have already been conducted
using a black passenger pod with four rotors, while in later stages of
development, Vertical will look to introduce elements of autonomous flight,
extend the range and expand the number of possible chartered routes.
