Vertical Aerospace has opened a new assembly center in the UK for the Valo, the electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft it is developing for short-distance passenger transport.
The facility at Cotswold Airport in Gloucestershire will be used to assemble aircraft for the Valo certification program and, if the program receives regulatory approval, the first units intended for customers.
Vertical spent £1.5 million (about $2 million) refurbishing a 60,000-square-foot (5,600-square-meter) World War II-era hangar that was later used by the Royal Air Force's Red Arrows. Together with its existing Flight Test Centre, the expansion takes the company's footprint at the airport to approximately 130,000 square feet.
The site is already used for flight testing of Vertical's VX4 prototypes. During the opening, the company demonstrated a VX4 performing vertical takeoff, transition to wingborne flight, a return to hover and vertical landing.
Valo to carry up to six people
Unveiled in late 2025, the Valo is the aircraft Vertical intends to take through certification and eventually put into commercial service. It evolved from the VX4 prototypes but incorporates changes to the fuselage, cabin and other systems.
The electric aircraft is designed for up to six people and is expected to cruise at up to 150 mph (241 km/h), with a targeted range of up to 100 miles (161 km). Vertical is initially targeting passenger operations such as airport connections and other relatively short routes.
Assembly of the first certification-conforming Valo is scheduled to begin at Cotswold Airport in the fourth quarter of 2027, followed by flight testing in 2028. Vertical currently targets type certification in 2029.
Seven Valo aircraft are expected to support the certification campaign. Five will be used for flight testing and two for structural tests on the ground.
Before the first of those aircraft is assembled, Vertical plans to use the new center to convert one of its existing prototypes into a hybrid-electric demonstrator. Flight testing of the longer-range configuration is scheduled to begin in the first half of 2027.
Initial production planned at Cotswold Airport
The new center is designed to assemble more than 25 Valo aircraft per year once initial production begins. Vertical expects the site to handle its first customer aircraft rather than immediately moving assembly elsewhere.
Higher-volume production would require a separate factory. Vertical plans to announce the location of that facility later in 2026 and has set a long-term target of producing more than 900 aircraft annually by 2035.
The company is also expanding its battery operations at Avonmouth, near Bristol. A new 30,000-square-foot addition to its Vertical Energy Centre is intended to triple battery production capacity as the Valo program moves toward certification.
