Important, if Delayed, Milestone For United Airlines' Chosen Taxi

Archer Aviation has completed the first important hover test of their upcoming Maker aircraft, a two-seater electric VTOL.

The brief flight consisted of the company's proprietary propulsion system making its first successful lift off unassisted.  The developmental mule received its FAA Special Airworthiness Certificate in Early December, the company finally moved its aircraft from the digital drawing board into the prototype phase. The Maker faces stiff competition in a market that has consistently marched onwards, only reaching hover tests this late in the game could see the tortoise v. hare adage play out in the market once again.

The move serves as a capstone for a year that has seen a number of Archer developments for the company, from their merger with a SPAC in February to sell public stock, to a contentious patent and trade secret lawsuit with now archenemy manufacturer Wisk. Recent good news has seen large investments from United Airlines for their prospective electronic taxi aircraft. The Maker sports 12 motors and 6 tilting electric propellers for vertical takeoff and efficient forward flight, which performed as expected during the company's Salinas, California test. The evaluation of their flight control software and aircraft subsystems bode well for future flight testing in 2022. 

Archer has made much of the selected date chosen for their milestone, making comparisons to the Wright Brothers' first flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina in 1903, showing off a certain sentimentality. Or, with the paranoid application of some yarn and thumbtacks, the date could be an oblique reference to Kitty Hawk Corporation, Boeing's partner on the Wisk eVTOL competitor, their court battle opponent. That connection may not have merit, given the test flight contained a piece of the historic Wright Flyer. 

"The past six months has been an incredible journey, from unveiling Maker to watching it take its first flight," said Brett Adcock, Archer co-founder and co-CEO. "It's been humbling to build a leading eVTOL company and educate the public on clean transportation alternatives. Today is a milestone for both Archer and the future of travel. I'm extremely proud of this exceptional team."

“Everything we’ve accomplished this year, every milestone hit and partnership struck, was all with one goal in mind: developing both an aircraft and a UAM ecosystem that could scale and change the face of intra-city travel,” shared Adam Goldstein, Archer co-founder and co-CEO.

“With our first hover flight now completed, we’re one major step closer to that goal and have proven that Archer can work at a fast pace without sacrificing safety or quality. Our team stands ready to continue that pace as we work toward launching an aerial ridesharing service in late 2024.”

FMI: www.archer.com