Vertical Aerospace has hired Dean Moore, formerly Boeing’s UK lead flight test engineer, to oversee the flight test campaign for its first certifiable eVTOL aircraft.
According to Vertical Aerospace, development of the winged, fully electric aircraft — which will carry a pilot and four passengers up to 100 miles (160 kilometers) at speeds of up to 150 mph (240 km/h) — is well underway and will soon be made public. The company has already flight tested two full-scale eVTOL prototypes, including its latest, Seraph, which can carry loads of 250 kilograms at speeds up to 50 mph (80 km/h).
In his new role, Moore will put together the operations manual for flight testing, develop strategic plans to help deliver flight test efforts, and maintain alignment throughout the teams.
“It is very exciting to be joining Vertical Aerospace at a pivotal period in a rapidly developing area of the aerospace industry,” Moore stated in a press release. “It’s a fantastic challenge to develop and deliver the flight test campaign, as we work towards the certification of our winged eVTOL aircraft.
“Vertical Aerospace has made significant steps with the Proof of Concept and Seraph demonstrators in such a short time and joining the team is a unique opportunity to be able to contribute to Vertical Aerospace’s next big advance in realizing carbon-free air transport.”
Moore has over 22 years of relevant experience with a variety of aircraft types, and has also spent time generating and implementing safety cases for a range of autonomous vehicles. He established and supervised the Boeing UK test team in delivering test activities across a range of Chinook programs and supported the test program proposal for the recently contracted UK E-7 Wedgetail aircraft. He also achieved the first flight of the Chinook for Boeing under the UK Military Contractor Flying Approved Organisation Scheme in 2014. Prior to his work at Boeing, Moore was a flight test engineer with QinetiQ.
“Dean brings extensive flight test experience across a wide range of novel platforms and he joins at the perfect time to shape the flight test program of our next-generation winged eVTOL,” stated Vertical Aerospace CEO Michael Cervenka.
The company is targeting certification of the aircraft and entry into service in 2024.
