Aircraft

Archer throws its hat into the ring with a 150-mph eVTOL design

Archer throws its hat into the ring with a 150-mph eVTOL design
Archer is a relatively new name in the eVTOL space with a highly experienced team on board
Archer is a relatively new name in the eVTOL space with a highly experienced team on board
View 1 Image
Archer is a relatively new name in the eVTOL space with a highly experienced team on board
1/1
Archer is a relatively new name in the eVTOL space with a highly experienced team on board

A Palo Alto startup has popped up out of stealth mode to lay another eVTOL air taxi design on the growing pile. Archer proposes a transitioning, winged aircraft powered by a large lithium battery pack, and promises a 60-mile (96-km) "worst-case" range and 150-mph (240-km/h) top speed.

The aircraft has six forward rotors along its fixed wing, and according to eVTOL news, there are another six for vertical lift that aren't visible in the images. Unusually for an eVTOL startup, the company has published details on its battery pack: a meaty 143-kWh pack that Archer says will break down into 26 kWh of VTOL and hover energy, 80 kWh of high-efficiency cruise energy and a 37-kWh emergency reserve on a 60-mile (96-km) flight. That battery takes up a third of the weight of the airframe, which will seat four.

While not a ton of other information is public at this stage, this is an outfit to be taken seriously based solely upon the caliber of its team. Archer has absorbed a lot of lead talent from the closure of Airbus's Vahana program, which shut down early this year, and has also attracted serious top-level talent away from Wisk Aero and Joby Aviation. These guys have all worked on flying, transitioning eVTOL prototypes and are now starting with a clean sheet. The team currently stands 44-strong, with a modest recruitment campaign underway.

The company has set up a Silicon Valley office right next to Palo Alto airport, and promises to have an 80-percent scale demonstrator flying by 2021. The design is still currently underway. Another one to watch.

Source: Archer via eVTOL News

5 comments
5 comments
Mark de Grasse
Love it! Companies are starting to realize that evtol “launches” mean nothing unless they make some kind of differentiating claim... the “team” doesn’t seem to mean much without it.
guzmanchinky
The more the merrier. I am surprised there are THIS many, obviously there must be a HUGE payoff somewhere down the road, but I don't quite see it unless the range can be greatly increased, which I'm sure they will in the next decade.
vince
Must be hundreds of companies trying to make a go of electric flight. Sadly, probably only a handful will make it. We to get Tesla involved !
Towerman
@ Vince All the EVTOLS reviewed here by Loz and the boys are the "handful's" that will make it so far, which is good and plenty enough with great variety. I Totally agree with you, someone needs to steal some of Mr Tesla's Rocket building time/car and battery time, to get him to work with some of these EVTOL companies to get the power source developed and ready for the big revolution to come. Kudos to Archer, they will compete well with Lilian and Wisk and a few other "winged" concepts mentioned in Loz's Superb Ultra long review the other week. I look forward to keeping my eyes glued to the progress being made by all of them ! And especially the dedicated multirotor versions in the reviews. What i fail to see thus far however and would really like to see being explored is a pure multicopter design with short wings unfolding in flight for long distance travel that can be stowed. Kind of like some supercars can deploy or stow their downforce wing, and kind of like Mr Musk's Tesla door design which is really elegant, stylish and functional ! But they must retain their pure multicopter look when stowed, i would like to see pure multicopters and variants with unfolding wings.
paul314
I'm waiting for someone to brand air taxis as pandemic-proof because you breathe less air from other people on your way to/from the airport. That might start justifying the prices.