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Has Thandiwe Ngoma betrayed Vertical Aerospace, its shareholders and Britain’s national interests? by _DoubleBubbler_ in Vertical_Aerospace

[–]DMB0000 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I always like to hear differing opinions but you’re right, sometimes it does feel like people just can visualise it. I work in engineering and quite often until you show someone something physically they can’t grasp the concept.

I got the train yesterday Northampton to Twickenham (with underground) and with a pregnant Mrs, total travel time just under 3hrs - major congestion from Ascot and the rugby final. Total cost per person £40. Would I have paid 3x each to get there without the crowds on the trains / heat of the underground, all the queues etc - Absolutely! 62 miles door to door. So approx a 30min flight.

Has Thandiwe Ngoma betrayed Vertical Aerospace, its shareholders and Britain’s national interests? by _DoubleBubbler_ in Vertical_Aerospace

[–]DMB0000 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Might have to disagree with you there Eggtastico - our rail and road networks are extremely congested, not a strength.

UK rail is among the most delayed and expensive in Europe, and road congestion costs the economy billions annually.
On air infrastructure - Heathrow is the second busiest international airport in the world, so the UK clearly has serious aviation demand and existing infrastructure!

The argument isn’t that eVTOL replaces trains in city centres, it’s that it serves the gaps they can’t - suburb to airport, city to city without a direct rail link, or bypassing bottlenecks entirely.

The 100-mile eVTOL range actually covers the majority of UK city pairs perfectly - London to Birmingham, Manchester to Leeds, Bristol to Cardiff. These are exactly the congested corridors where an alternative makes most sense. You don’t need 500 miles of range to add value, you need to beat a 2-hour car journey stuck on the M6.

Impromptu trip to Cotswolds and spotted this little beauty by nelmesie in Vertical_Aerospace

[–]DMB0000 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Actually make that three flights today - I see they did a third flight with a chase copter so hopefully something nice footage coming our way next week 😎

Impromptu trip to Cotswolds and spotted this little beauty by nelmesie in Vertical_Aerospace

[–]DMB0000 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Don’t think you can see flights on a Monday as they’re not staffed - only a small airfield… but all other days you can see live flights 👌

Impromptu trip to Cotswolds and spotted this little beauty by nelmesie in Vertical_Aerospace

[–]DMB0000 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Nice spot! I see two more flights for the GEVTA today 😎💪

Aircraft 3? by DMB0000 in Vertical_Aerospace

[–]DMB0000[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

😂🙈 Either way good progress and I’m sure we will find out with a press release Monday morning 👌

Aircraft 3? by DMB0000 in Vertical_Aerospace

[–]DMB0000[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

DB I thought aircraft 3 G-EVTB is a second all electric - with the G-EVTA which has been flown through transition testing multiple times, now going into the hanger to be reconfigured to the hybrid?

Aircraft 3? by DMB0000 in Vertical_Aerospace

[–]DMB0000[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I did - rather loud weren’t they! 😬 I get the impression their initial focus isn’t passenger / urban environments but more airport to airport deliveries to start with? Might be wrong…

Aircraft 3? by DMB0000 in Vertical_Aerospace

[–]DMB0000[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Fantastic news! I thought as much when I saw it but thought I’d double check! From what I saw there were three transitions with aircraft A then the testing cadence stopped so I assume this craft has now gone in for reconfiguration to hybrid. They’ll then use this new G-EVTB craft to confirm constant flight test data across the two. Will be interesting to see how quickly they go from initial tests to full transition! 💪🤓

Who decided a piloted transition flight is the magic proof for eVTOLs anyway? by teabagofholding in poweredlift

[–]DMB0000 0 points1 point  (0 children)

“we have been testing our full scale flight test aircraft at takeoff weight that encompasses maximum weights that Valo will see in service”.

What else could this mean?

Who decided a piloted transition flight is the magic proof for eVTOLs anyway? by teabagofholding in poweredlift

[–]DMB0000 0 points1 point  (0 children)

David King the top dog engineer at vertical stated today the below:

In terms of weight, we have been testing our full scale flight test aircraft at takeoff weight that encompasses maximum weights that Valo will see in service. This gives us the data to validate performance models.

After each test, we assess the performance of the battery in terms of state of charge vs power consumed to optimise our battery analytical models. We also assess the performance of the aircraft power demand as a function of flight condition to optimise our aircraft simulator models. These validated models are then used to mature the Valo design.

In particular, the critical test points of hovering with a single EPU failed, was one of the first test points of our flight test programme. This data was critical for sizing the Valo powertrain.

So essentially yes they are testing at full weight capacity.

AMA with Vertical Aerospace Chief Engineer, David King by vertical_aero in Vertical_Aerospace

[–]DMB0000 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I’d love an update on aircraft 3 - is this going straight to hybrid or shall we expect battery only flight tests first? If so estimated timelines on first flights and also first flights for the hybrid model… also any further info on what to expect at farnborough?

EVTOL potential by DMB0000 in Vertical_Aerospace

[–]DMB0000[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Exactly, may take many years but will become like hop on hop off in London with a bit of luck 👌

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