Michael Cervenka traces his interest in engineering back to his grandfather's influence.
"He was an organ builder and had me sorting out screws on his workshop floor when I was 18 months old," he says.
That interest literally took off. He is now the boss of Bristol-based Vertical Aerospace, and has progressed to electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) machines.
With the potential to be quiet and economical, these aircraft have been touted as the next big thing in passenger aircraft.
Vertical is working on the VA-1X, an aircraft intended to fly between regions. That regional emphasis matters as eVTOL machines have often been promoted as air taxis, whizzing around our cities under the banner of "urban air mobility" (UAM).
