AMSL Aero completes the first free flight of Vertiia, Australia’s first hydrogen passenger-capable eVTOL
Sydney, Australia – 18 November 2024 – AMSL Aero, the zero-emission aircraft designer and manufacturer, has completed the first free flight of Vertiia, Australia’s first passenger-capable, emission-free, long range electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOL) aircraft.
The landmark flight is the first by an Australian-designed and built eVTOL, the new generation of aircraft that take off and land like a helicopter but fly fast and smoothly like a fixed-wing aeroplane. Since the first untethered flight, which took place earlier this month, Vertiia taken off, flown and landed successfully more than 50 times.
Vertiia is the most complex civil aircraft ever developed in Australia. It has been designed to fly up to 1,000km on hydrogen at a cruising speed of 300km/hour with zero carbon emissions, carrying up to four passengers and a pilot. AMSL Aero’s Vertiia customers are planning commercial flights following certification and regulatory approval planned in 2027.
The historic test flight was performed on battery power by remote control in the Central West region of New South Wales in accordance with Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) regulations. AMSL Aero will begin hydrogen-fuelled flight testing of Vertiia in 2025 having already broken records in 2023 by completing the first tethered battery-powered hover.
This year, AMSL Aero received deposits for 26 Vertiia aircraft orders from civil customers including 20 from Aviation Logistics, which operates the Air Link, AirMed and Chartair brands covering passenger services, aircraft charter, air freight and aeromedical flights across Australia.