Archer Completes Midnight’s Transition Flight (Video)

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Midnight Is Archer’s Second Full-Scale EVTOL Plane To Obtain This Milestone

• Midnight accomplished the transition flight on June eighth flying at speeds of 100+ MPH
• At ~6,500 lb, Midnight is believed to be one of many largest eVTOL plane to finish transition, which is vital to with the ability to carry commercially viable passenger payloads
• Archer has now achieved transition with two completely different full-scale eVTOL plane which is well-known within the business as a really tough milestone few firms have reached
• A transition flight happens when the plane takes off vertically like a helicopter, accelerates ahead, transitions from thrust-borne to wing-borne flight like an airplane with tilt propellers ahead earlier than decelerating and touchdown vertically
• Click on “right here” to view a full video of the transition flight

SANTA CLARA, California — Archer Aviation Inc. (NYSE:ACHR), a pacesetter in electrical vertical takeoff and touchdown (eVTOL) plane, this week introduced that on June eighth its Midnight plane efficiently accomplished transition flying at a velocity of 100+ mph. Archer has now achieved transition with two completely different full-scale eVTOL plane. Transition is well-known within the business as a really tough milestone few firms have reached. At ~6,500 lb, Midnight is believed to be one of many largest eVTOL plane to finish transition, which is vital to with the ability to carry commercially viable passenger payloads.

A transition flight happens when the plane takes off vertically like a helicopter, accelerates ahead, transitions from thrust-borne to wing-borne flight like an airplane with tilt propellers ahead earlier than decelerating and touchdown vertically.

“Transitioning two generations of full-scale eVTOL plane in lower than 2 years is one other exceptional achievement for Archer’s staff. This exhibits we proceed to efficiently execute towards our plan to create probably the most environment friendly path to market with an plane that’s designed for certification and to be manufactured effectively at scale,” stated Adam Goldstein, Archer’s Founder and CEO.
Midnight is now the seventh full-scale eVTOL plane that Archer’s CTO, Tom Muniz, and Chief Engineer, Dr. Geoff Bower, have efficiently constructed and flown of their respective careers. Archer’s first technology full-scale eVTOL plane, Maker, efficiently achieved transition in November, 2022, eleven months after its first flight, and nonetheless flies often within the firm’s flight check program. Simply seven months after Midnight’s first flight, Archer has now efficiently transitioned its manufacturing eVTOL plane as the corporate continues to construct momentum in the direction of commercialization.

“Efficiently finishing the transition from hover to wing-borne flight with a full-scale eVTOL plane is an amazing engineering feat that solely a handful of firms on the earth have achieved,” stated Dr. Geoff Bower, Archer’s Chief Engineer. “Over the seven eVTOL plane I’ve constructed and flown in my profession, they’ve gotten progressively bigger as we pursued payloads that made the plane platform commercially viable. Midnight is believed to be one of many largest eVTOL plane ever to realize transition and one of many first that’s goal constructed to hold sufficient passengers to have the ability to function a profitable air taxi enterprise. I’m extraordinarily pleased with Archer’s staff as we now have now achieved this milestone with two generations of full-scale plane.”

Midnight’s flight check program will now proceed its progress with plans to fly simulated industrial routes to display the plane’s operational readiness, executing high-rate flight operations, testing extra flight maneuvers that shall be utilized in industrial settings together with persevering with to increase its velocity and endurance flight envelope.

Archer continues to make certification progress as the corporate has now acquired its Half 135 and Half 145 certificates from the FAA. Moreover, Archer is one among two firms on the earth to have its remaining airworthiness standards for an eVTOL plane issued by the FAA. Midnight is now within the remaining “implementation” part of its Kind Certification program with piloted flight testing on observe to start later this yr.

Archer’s objective is to rework city journey, changing 60–90-minute commutes by automobile with estimated 10–20-minute electrical air taxi flights which are secure, sustainable, low noise, and cost-competitive with floor transportation. Archer’s Midnight is a piloted, four-passenger plane designed to carry out speedy back-to-back flights with minimal cost time between flights.

Press launch from Archer.