Archers

Three months after its first takeoff, the production-spec Midnight air taxi has finished the first phase of flight testing. With the release of a new video, Archer says it expects to fly this next-gen machine with human pilots on board this year.Currently sitting in fifth place on the AAM Reality Index – and with a bullet – Archer is making steady progress in its mission to get fully certified electric air taxis into commercial service by 2025. It's signed a couple of notable deals this month – one with Atlantic Aviation,…

The eVTOL air taxi Archer is pushing toward production has now lifted off for the first time. The handsome, five-seat Midnight aircraft is scheduled to enter service in 2025, providing clean, quiet, short-range, traffic-busting hops over urban areas.This 12-prop, V-tailed beauty, lightly reminiscent of a sperm whale from some angles, is designed for speeds up to 150 mph (241 km/h) in wingborne cruise mode with the front six props tilted forward. It has a maximum range of 100 miles (161 km) – that's not huge next to what…

Six months after revealing its production eVTOL air taxi design, Archer Aviation has shown off its first functional Midnight aircraft, with flight tests set to begin in the coming months – and manufacturing has already begun on a conforming prototype.The Midnight is one of a new generation of futuristic electric air taxis designed to fly you from rooftop to heliport across town as quickly as a helicopter – but much quieter, much cheaper and with zero emissions. It'll carry four passengers and a pilot over distances up to…

Stellantis will also increase its existing stake in Archer through stock purchases in the open market.By Gilles GuillaumeCar maker Stellantis will help build Archer Aviation's electric aircraft Midnight eVTOL and increase its stake in the U.S. company, the two firms said on Wednesday.Industrial firms and new startups are flocking to invest in air taxis, which can take off and land vertically to ferry travellers to airports or on short trips between cities, allowing them to beat traffic.The vertical take-off and landing…

There are very few full-size aircraft capable of transitioning between vertical takeoff and landing and wing-borne horizontal cruise flight, so it's a big deal when a company manages the feat, as Archer has now claimed. But the video is a shocker.Archer is going full speed ahead on expanding its flight envelope, hoping to achieve FAA type certification for its striking five-seat Midnight air taxi by 2024, and to enter service in 2025. Its two-seat Maker prototype has been flying since last December, nutting out the…