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Archer announced Wednesday that its eVTOL Midnight hit another key milestone in finishing Phase 1 of its flight test program.
With learnings from the last four years of testing. Midnight completed the flight test phase in about three months, significantly faster than the full-scale prototype aircraft Maker. Midnight's battery system has also recently been upgraded to include some of the first high-voltage battery packs off of Archer's manufacturing line in San Jose, California. With the recent advancements the Midnight remains on track to complete its first full wing-borne transition flight and begin piloted "for credit" testing with the FAA later this year.
"Midnight is progressing efficiently through our flight test program," Archer founder and CEO Adam Goldstein said. "Over the last four years of flight testing, our team has been able to gather a tremendous amount of data and learnings that enable us to advance Midnight rapidly towards certification. Our team's focus on safety and relentless execution has gotten us to where we are today and is what will allow us to achieve what no other company in the world has done to date - bring electric air taxis to cities across the U.S. and the globe."
Phase 1 of the flight test program covered many complex flight maneuvers and data-gathering missions. Midnight's flight envelope will expand in Phase 2, which will involve an incremental approach to speed testing. The aircraft will continue flying at greater and greater speeds until it can achieve full wing-borne transition. Transition in vertical takeoff and landing aircraft signifies in a single flight the capability to both takeoff and land vertically and cruise efficiently in wingborne flight. When this is complete, the aircraft will continue to Phase 3. Phase 3 will include flying simulated commercial routes to demonstrate the aircraft's operational readiness.RELATED STORY:Atlantic Aviation partners with Joby, Archer to electrify infrastructure
Archer's goal is to transform urban travel and replace the 60-90 minute commute by car with a 10-20 minute electric air taxi flight in a safe, sustainable, low noise and cost-competitive alternative. The Midnight is a piloted, four-passenger aircraft designed for rapid back-to-back flights with minimal charge time between flights.
Recently, Archer signed a memorandum of understanding with Atlantic Aviation to operationalize sites for electric aircraft in LA and New York metropolitan areas.