As VRCO steps up efforts to bring its Xcraft XP4 four-seat eVTOL aircraft to market, it expects to become more visible in 2023. To increase development space and to begin flight testing a prototype by early 2024, the company is moving its headquarters to London Heathrow Airport after outgrowing its Derby facilities.
VRCO’s revised business plan also includes a contract with Spanish engineering services group CITD to provide design support and eventually type certification services. During the Covid pandemic, progress toward an earlier 2024 target slowed, leading to a new provisional schedule that projects airworthiness approval by early 2026.
Since the new partner is located within the European Union, it is expected to be more able to access the EASA regulatory process, which circumvents the UK’s post-Brexit isolation, as well as access to Horizon 2020 research and development funding, which the company says improves shareholder value.
Virtual reality and simulation technology is used in VRCO’s training space to make progress in learning about the design and operation of the vehicle.
Eviation’s nine-passenger Alice model, for example, was developed by Madrid-based CITD. Some 30 engineers are available to work on the XP4 project at the company, which has worked for major aerospace groups including Airbus.
As of today, VRCO — which stands for Vehicle Redesign Company and was founded in 2015 — has produced a quarter-scale technology demonstrator of the XP4 , an earlier version of which was the two-seat Xcraft XP2. The company’s founder and CEO Mike Smith told FutureFlight that it is also working on smaller-scale freight drones with cargo holds that can be accessed from the top and bottom. This design version is expected to be announced during the second quarter of this year.
In contrast to commercial applications like air taxi services, VRCO considers affluent private owner-pilots its primary market for the XP4. In Smith’s opinion, regulators will be fine with private pilots operating the vehicle, who will likely undergo 45 to 50 hours of flight training prior to flying the vehicle. Although, this approach could exclude busy airspace and restrict where and how the aircraft can operate.
VRCO announced in January that its XP4 solar catamaran would be offered to owners of Silent-Yachts’ 37-meter-long (120-foot) Silent 120 model. A two-seat electric submarine with a depth range of 100 meters is also available from Silent-Yachts. Monaco Yacht Show is VRCO’s intended venue for exhibiting its vehicle. A partnership with a private adventure tour operator will be announced by VRCO later this month, the company says.
VRCO plans to raise around £20 million ($24 million) in a Series A funding round in the coming weeks to support prototype development and design organization approval. Around mid-2024, Smith anticipates a higher-value Series B round, or perhaps an IPO, to support high capital expenditures related to efforts such as the construction of manufacturing facilities.
A U.S.-based company, Airo Group, was planning to merge what it saw as complementary aviation businesses with the aim of going public on Wall Street in late 2022. Aspen Avionics and Jaunt Air Mobility, one of the world’s leading developers of eVTOL aircraft, have decided to break away from the UK company and operate independently. A possible outcome of this path would be a public offering or the creation of another group with related businesses.
As part of the Design Organization Approval process for new aircraft manufacturers, VRCO is now interviewing candidates holding Form 4 post-holder status. To prepare for DOA approval in 2024, the company has been trained by the UK Civil Aviation Authority with the support of CITD.
