After nailing its first full-size electric take-off and landing (eVTOL) transition in 2022 with the Maker technology demonstrator, Archer Aviation has revealed that its Midnight aircraft has successfully transitioned from hover to horizontal flight, before going on to clock speeds of over 100 mph.
The exclusive transitioning eVTOL flight club has few members at the moment. The roll call includes Joby Aviation, AutoFlight and Beta Technologies and now a double entry from Archer – though only Beta has managed the transition with a pilot onboard. Geely's Aerofugia has also been added to that list, though we're awaiting official confirmation.
Archer's Midnight aircraft is configured for a pilot and four passengers (along with carry-on luggage). The V-tail eVTOL sports 12 propellers straddling its wings, each with its own electric motor, and is designed for flight speeds up to 150 mph (241.4 km/h). Its six battery packs are reckoned good for "rapid back-to-back flights of 20-50 miles with minimal charge time in between."
The aircraft lifts off vertically and then accelerates forward, transitioning from "thrust-borne to wing-borne flight" courtesy of its tilt propellers. Archer has shared a video of just such a flight, which took place on June 8 – just seven months after its maiden flight.
"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," said the company's Dr. Geoff Bower. "Over the seven eVTOL aircraft I’ve built and flown in my career, they have gotten progressively larger as we pursued payloads that made the aircraft platform commercially viable. Midnight is believed to be one of the largest eVTOL aircraft ever to achieve transition and one of the first that is purpose built to carry enough passengers to be able to operate a successful air taxi business."
The 6,500-lb (2,948-kg) Midnight will fly over simulated commercial routes in the coming months to demonstrate operational readiness. Archer already has Part 135 and Part 145 certificates from the FAA, and is now reported to be in the final stages of Type Certification preparations, which will see piloted flights starting later in the year. There's no word on whether the company is still on track to enter service from 2025.
As mentioned earlier, video footage of Aerofugia's AE200 eVTOL has also been posted online, a five-seat air taxi with eight propellers mounted to an upper wing and two more atop its X-tail.
Source: Archer Aviation
