VERTICAL FLIGHT SOCIETY UK
The Vertical Flight Society UK Foundation Charitable Incorporated Organization Report of the Trustees for the period 1 May 2024 to 30 April 2025 Aim and Purpose
The Vertical Flight Society UK works closely with The Vertical Flight Society (VFS) headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia, USA and previously known as the American Helicopter Society. The VFS is the world’s premier professional vertical flight technical society and is recognised by the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as a 501(c)(3) charity (see www.vtol.org for more details).
The VFS UK operates throughout England, Wales and Scotland.
Objectives and Activities
The VFS UK is committed to educating as many people as possible living within the British Isles in vertical flight science and technology and related mechanical and engineering skills. VFS UK organises presentations and lectures on subjects relevant to Vertical Flight with a focus on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (known as STEM).
The benefits of the purposes are advancing the education of the public, particularly engineers and scientists, in scientific and technological subjects related to vertical flight.
VFS UK advertises its events through links with Universities and other educational establishments. It also advertises through relevant professional websites.
VFS UK events are open to all with most activities taking place on-line.
All activities performed were aiming to maximise public benefit and there were no fees charged for participation.
Achievement and Performance
The Trustees met regularly (virtual, on-line meetings) to plan the management structure of VFS UK and to plan all CIO activities. The Trustees also undertook training, again, virtually.
The VFS UK continued its web and social media-presence by a complete redrafting of its web pages on Facebook, X, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
In addition, online public events were organized using streaming and online collaboration tools. This year, Prof. Antonio Filippone presented a free seminar on the aerial firefighting with helicopters. 25 individuals attended and the presentation has been made available on the YouTube Channel of the Chapter.
The Annual meeting took place on February 28 at the RAF Club in London. The day began with presentations from:
Angelo Collins, VFS Executive Director, Welcome Message & The work of Vertical Flight Society
Fergus Crawford - Leonardo Helicopters ““What has simulation ever done for us? And what is its future?”
Ben Lawrence - Aircraft Simulation Lead Vertical Aerospace, “Starting up EVTOL Flight Simulation with Vertical Aerospace”
ART Jan Georicke– "Key Aspects of Modelling and Simulation in Support of eVTOL Design and Certification"
Rich Pillans - Test Pilot and Display Pilot, ’80 Years of the Bell 47’
George Williams, HEMS Pilot, TRE at Test Pilot Services Ltd. ‘Are eVTOL the future of UK HEMs
Glenn Waters, Head of Advanced Tech, ARC Aero systems – short company presentation
Finally, there was a Q & A panel with the keynote speakers and moderated by Professor George Barakos (University of Glasow and Chapter Secretary).
75 individuals registered and 72 attended.
The VFS UK Management structure is detailed in the Administrative Section below.
The Officers of VFS UK meet (virtual) on the afternoon of the first Friday in the Month.
The VFS UK promotes its activities through the VFS and the VFS UK Chapter. Membership of the VFS UK Chapter has been stable at near 200 people during this reporting period and is drawn from Industry and Academia.
Financial Review
VFS UK has received no income during this reporting period.
VFS UK has incurred no expenditure during this reporting period.
VFS UK has no assets or liabilities.
VFS UK now has a bank account.
The Trustees therefore consider that a financial audit is not required for this reporting period.
Volunteers
The Trustees would like to thank all those who volunteered to serve as Officers of VFS UK during this reporting period making valuable contributions to the running of VFS UK allowing this charity to fulfil its aims and objectives.
Administrative Information
The correspondence address for the VFS UK is 17 King John Road, Gillingham, Dorset, SP8 4PG.
The following have served as Officers during this reporting period:
| George Barakos | Secretary and First Trustee |
|---|---|
| Antonio Filippone | Treasurer |
| Thomas Fitzgibbon | Student Chapter Chair |
| Ian Frain | Public Relations |
| David Gibbings | Honorary President |
| Rafael Morales | University Liaison |
| Adrian Neve | Awards & Scholarships Chair |
| David Niven | Technical Chair |
| Darrell Swanson | Vice President, Tech Meetings |
| Paul Taylor | President and First Trustee |
| Mark White | Membership Chair and First Trustee |
Prof. Antonio Filippone has agreed to be a Trustee “in waiting” allowing the Charity to continue to operate in the event of one of the Trustees being indisposed.
VFS-UK Financial Statements for the year 1 May 2021 to 30 April 2022
Income
VFS UK has received no income during this reporting period.
Expenditure
VFS UK has incurred no expenditure during this reporting period.
Assets and Liabilities
VFS UK has no assets or liabilities for this reporting period.
Approved by the Trustees on 30-3-2026 and signed on their behalf by George Barakos (VFS-UK Trustee and Secretary).