Market Intelligence
Archer Aviation, the American eVTOL manufacturer, has completed the final assembly of its inaugural Midnight electric aircraft and plans to conduct the first test flight this summer.
The aircraft was shipped from Archer’s Palo Alto facility to the company’s flight testing premises in Salinas, California last week. It was subsequently reassembled and will undergo a series of ground tests before taking flight.
The impending test flight will allow Archer to pinpoint any potential problems in the lead-up to “for credit” certification testing under the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in 2024.
“Our strategy with this aircraft is to allow Archer to fly many of the same test points that will be needed during piloted “for credit” flight testing in order to further validate the aircraft before the FAA witnesses and participates in the testing,” the company said.
The components required for the conforming Midnight eVTOL are ready, with the final assembly being slated for the fourth quarter of this year. Piloted test operations are expected to follow in early 2024.
“Today we announced our exciting progress that the final assembly of our first Midnight aircraft is now complete and it is preparing for its flight test program,” Adam Goldstein, Archer’s Founder and CEO, said. “This aircraft will accelerate and reduce risk on our certification program paving the way for our team to focus on building and conducting piloted operations with conforming aircraft to support the goal of entering into service in 2025.”
On the same day, Archer unveiled its first quarter financial result and posted a net loss of USD$113.1 million, which almost doubled from USD$59.2 million in 2022.
Upon launching commercially, Archer plans to introduce routes in New York and Chicago with United Airlines. The San Jose-based firm aims to “explore additional routes” in the future.
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