Archer Aviation Inc today announced today that its flight test programme hit another key milestone with the first flight of the company’s Midnight eVTOL.
“This next phase of Archer’s flight test program is only possible because of the four years of flight testing we’ve done. Midnight is building on the successes of its predecessor aircraft and represents another significant step forward in Archer’s path to commercialization,” said Archer’s founder and CEO Adam Goldstein. “The next year and a half will 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.”
“Having taken seven full-size eVTOL aircraft from design to flight test during my career in the eVTOL industry, today’s milestone with Midnight 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,” said Archer COO Tom Muniz.
Midnight’s flight envelope is expected to progress rapidly from hover to full wing-borne transition flight in the coming months, paving the way for the company to begin “for credit” testing of its Midnight aircraft with the FAA next year as it works towards entry into service in 2025, said the company. Simultaneous with the Midnight flight test programme, Archer intends to continue Maker’s flight test programme as well as flying simulated commercial routes to continue to advance the company’s operational readiness.
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