Vertical Aerospace has today appointed Eamonn Brennan as an adviser to its Board. Eamonn Brennan has been a central figure in European aviation for many years, including serving as Director General of Eurocontrol and Chief Executive of the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA), the civil aviation regulator for Ireland, from 2003 to 2017. During both roles he worked closely with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and helped drive significant advancements in European aviation, including through his advocacy of the Single European Sky programme.
He is currently a Non-Executive Director of Ryanair, Europe’s largest airline, and a Board member at ANRA Technologies, a global leader in uncrewed traffic management and operation solutions. He also serves on the advisory Board of Cirium, an aviation analytics firm.
Mr Brennan joins as the company recently completed piloted thrustborne testing for its VX4 prototype and continues working with the UK Civil Aviation Authority to expand its flight envelope ahead of wingborne flight. During this phase, the VX4 prototype will take off, fly, and land like a conventional aircraft, with lift generated by its wings rather than its rotors.
“Transitioning from a tightly controlled test environment, with a pilot on board, to more dynamic, scalable operations is a major leap forward on the path to full certification and commercial viability,” said the company in a press release. “ Once the aircraft has completed wingborne flight, it will have, in effect, completed a mini-certification process with this prototype.”
Mr Brennan’s appointment further strengthens Vertical’s regulatory team, which includes Trevor Woods, the former Certification Director at EASA, who has served as Director of Regulatory Affairs at Vertical since 2022. Last year the CAA agreed certification co-operation with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and expanded the scope of Vertical’s Design Organisation Approval (DOA). Vertical has active certification validation projects with five regulators, including from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), National Civil Aviation Agency of Brazil (ANAC), and the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB).
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