Vertical Aerospace Pushes Valo Certification to 2029 as UK eVTOL Hiring Stays Focused on Build-Phase Engineering Roles
Why It MattersA slip at the UK's most advanced eVTOL developer shows that certifying a new aircraft class is setting the pace of the whole sector, not manufacturing readiness.
Vertical Aerospace, which is headquartered in Bristol and flight-tests at Kemble in Gloucestershire, moved the certification target for its production aircraft, the Valo, from 2028 to 2029 on 13 July 2026. The company said the new date reflects the rigour of certifying an entirely new class of aircraft.
On 14 April, the VX4 prototype completed a full two-way piloted transition at Kemble: vertical take-off, forward flight on its wings, then a vertical landing. Vertical says it is the second company in the world to do this in a full-scale tiltrotor eVTOL. In July, the VX4 flew publicly at Farnborough on five consecutive days in front of more than 140,000 visitors, according to the company. On 13 August, Vertical reported about $134 million (£99 million) in cash and roughly $100 million of new financing commitments, which it said gives at least 12 months of runway.
The Civil Aviation Authority says it is working towards the regulatory framework for initial commercial passenger flights from the end of 2028. After a consultation that closed on 29 January 2026 with 28 responses, new eVTOL aircraft will be classed as either Powered-Lift or Non-Conventional Helicopters, and airworthiness will use the existing Part 21 framework, changed only where necessary. Existing commercial pilots will get a pathway to a type rating on new VTOL aircraft, and private pilots a type rating pathway for non-commercial flying.
In a March 2026 job listing, Vertical described itself as having about 460 employees. The 2026 listings identified are build-phase roles: junior aircraft manufacturing engineer at Kemble, junior digital manufacturing engineer, junior stress engineer, aircraft mechanical technician, operations quality engineer and senior certification manager. The junior manufacturing engineer listing asked for a degree in engineering, manufacturing, operations, supply chain or a related field, with CAD experience helpful and CATIA a plus, and did not state a salary.
