One Step Closer, But Many More to Go...

Archer Aviation has finalized the criteria for final airworthiness certification of the Midnight aircraft, laying out the path to come as they look to dive into the eVTOL market.

The Midnight eVTOL has been given an updated, final set of airworthiness criteria by the FAA, which is a "significant regulatory milestone" but still a ways off from being production-ready. Archer does proudly note that it's one of only "two companies in the world to achieve this certification progress with the FAA for an eVTOL aircraft," helping to cement their position at the head of the pack. Now, finalized criteria allows Archer to work with the FAA and obtain final approvals on its certification and testing plans, a critical step on the road to true mass production.

The Midnight is, like so many of its competitors, a battery-powered multi rotor aircraft, designed to tackle those problematic little "last mile" types of flights that have generally been taken on by helicopters. Their large rotor wash and noise have kept helos on the fringe for a long time, both issues that eVTOL designers believe they can tackle with next-gen tech. The smaller, quieter, battery powered Midnight should be well suited to taking on the rideshare market currently dominated by automobiles. 

Archer says they intent to "transform urban travel, replacing 60--90-minute commutes by car with estimated 10-20 minute flights that are safe, sustainable, low noise, and cost-competitive with ground transportation. Archer's Midnight is a piloted, four-passenger aircraft designed to perform rapid back-to-back flights with minimal charge time between flights."

"Midnight is one giant step closer to taking passengers into the sky in the coming years in the U.S. The final airworthiness criteria for Midnight is an important step on our journey to make electric flying taxis an everyday reality," said Billy Nolen, Archer Chief Regulatory Affairs Officer and former Administrator of the FAA. "Thank you to the team at the FAA for their continued hard work in support of making the electrification of aviation a reality." 

"Today's milestone adds significant momentum to Midnight's certification program as we further ramp up our "for credit" testing efforts with the FAA," added Eric Wright, Archer's Head of Certification.

FMI: www.archer.com