Archer’s Midnight completes transition to forward flight
Archer’s Midnight eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) craft has completed its transition to forward flight, the company’s second full-scale aircraft to reach the critical milestone.
“Successfully completing the transition…
June 12, 2024
Archer’s Midnight eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) craft has completed its transition to forward flight, the company’s second full-scale aircraft to reach the critical milestone.
“Successfully completing the transition from hover to wing-borne flight with a full-scale eVTOL aircraft is a tremendous engineering feat that only a handful of companies in the world have achieved,” highlighted Archer’s chief engineer, Geoff Bower. Weighing in at around 6,500lbs, Archer’s Midnight is also believed to be one of the largest eVTOL aircraft to complete the transition; something its developers cite as being “crucial to being able to carry commercially viable passenger payloads”.
Seven months after first taking to the skies, during a test on 8 June, Midnight – Archer’s second-generation full-scale eVTOL – reached speeds of around 100mph in forward flight. “Transitioning two generations of full-scale eVTOL aircraft in less than two years is another remarkable achievement for Archer’s team,” commented Adam Goldstein, Archer’s founder and CEO. “This shows we continue to successfully execute against our plan to create the most efficient path to market with an aircraft that is designed for certification and to be manufactured efficiently at scale”.
Archer will continue to advance Midnight’s flight test programme as it pursues FAA type certification, including exploring simulated commercial routes, executing high-rate flight operations and testing additional flight manoeuvres, while continuing to expand its speed and endurance flight envelope.
