The eVTOL air taxi that Archer is pushing into production has now taken to the skies for the first time. This handsome five-seater Midnight aircraft is scheduled to be put into service in 2025. It can provide clean, quiet, short-distance flight services over the city that will not affect traffic.
The 12-propeller, V-tail aircraft, which is reminiscent of a sperm whale from some angles, is designed to reach speeds of 150 miles per hour (241 km/h) in wing-borne cruise mode with the first six propellers tilted forward, and has a maximum range of 100 miles (161 kilometers) - that's not huge compared to Lilium or Joby's goals, but in reality the Archer is entirely focused on short-distance cross-town commuting.
As a result, the company expects most of its flight ranges to be between 20 and 50 miles (32 and 80 kilometers), and has specifically optimized the aircraft to enable back-to-back 20-mile return flights with only 12 minutes of charging in between. Its value proposition is to replace a 60- to 90-minute car commute with a 10- to 20-minute clean electric flight at a much more affordable price than a helicopter.
Archer has been flying its early two-seat Maker prototype since December 2021. Twelve months later, it completed the full transition to wing-borne cruise mode. The Midnight aircraft is larger and more luxurious, but Archer said it aims to enter transition and cruise testing "quickly" in the "next few months."
"In my career in the eVTOL industry, seven full-scale eVTOL aircraft have completed the journey from design to flight test, and today's 'midnight' milestone marks the most significant flight to date, bringing Archer and the eVTOL industry another step closer to bringing a scalable and commercially viable aircraft to market," Archer Chief Operating Officer Tom Muniz said in a press release.
Currently, the main hurdle facing (almost) all eVTOL companies is FAA/EASA certification. Archer aims to begin type certification "credit" testing of the Midnight aircraft in 2024, and in the meantime, the company is conducting city-wide simulation tests.
Since the FAA is not required to adhere to any company's development and test flight schedules, it will be interesting to see how the key dates for Archer, Joby, Beta and others in the field evolve over the next 24 months.