Archer Achieves Key Flight Test Program Milestone As Midnight Takes Flight
It’s been a giant 12 months for Archer Aviation Inc. (NYSE: ACHR), a significant player in electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft: and today, the corporate announced that its flight test program has hit a key milestone. Constructing on 4 years of flight testing which began in 2019, including two years of full-scale flight testing of Archer’s Maker aircraft, “Midnight’s flight envelope is on the right track to rapidly advance from hover to full wing-borne flight over the approaching months helping pave the technique to begin “for credit” testing with the FAA next 12 months,” says the corporate.
“This next phase of Archer’s flight test program is barely possible due to the 4 years of flight testing we’ve done. Midnight is constructing on the successes of its predecessor aircraft and represents one other significant step forward in Archer’s path to commercialization,” said Archer’s founder and CEO Adam Goldstein. “The following 12 months and a half can be focused on continuing to rapidly advance our flight test program and Archer’s electric air taxi operations as we prepare to bring Midnight to market in 2025.”
The milestone follows closely upon announcement of a deal between Archer and the UAE to determine business air taxi service. Also in 2023, the corporate raised one other $215 million in funding and received a special airworthiness certificate for the Midnight eVTOL.
“Having taken seven full-size eVTOL aircraft from design to flight test during my profession within the eVTOL industry, today’s milestone with Midnight marks probably the most significant flight so far bringing Archer and the eVTOL industry one other step closer to bringing a scalable and commercially viable aircraft to market,” said Archer COO Tom Muniz.
Simultaneous with the Midnight flight test program, Archer intends to proceed Maker’s flight test program in addition to flying simulated business routes to proceed to advance the corporate’s operational readiness.
“Archer’s goal is to rework urban travel, replacing 60–90-minute commutes by automotive with estimated 10-20 minute electric air taxi flights which might be secure, sustainable, low noise, and cost-competitive with ground transportation,” says the corporate. “Archer’s Midnight is a piloted, four-passenger aircraft designed to perform rapid back-to-back flights with minimal charge time between flights.”
Read more: