US regulator the FAA has issued Archer Aviation with the final airworthiness criteria to certify the California-based developer’s Midnight eVTOL aircraft.
Archer said the move provides a “solidified path” for the company to achieve Type Certification for Midnight as it continues to ramp up testing with the FAA and works on obtaining the remaining approvals on its certification and test plans.
The company plans to begin piloted flight testing later this year.
Billy Nolen, Archer’s chief regulatory affairs officer said, “Midnight is a giant step closer to taking passengers into the sky in the coming years in the US. The final airworthiness criteria for Midnight is an important step on our journey to make electric flying taxis an everyday reality,”
Eric Wright, Archer’s head of certification said, “Today’s milestone adds significant momentum to Midnight’s certification program as we further ramp up our “for credit” testing efforts with the FAA.”
Engineers at Archer have been testing Midnight’s systems and components before flight testing and to support of its ongoing FAA certification program. The company plans to make three conforming Midnight aircraft for testing and reported “significant progress” with the build of the first.
Midnight is a piloted, four-passenger eVTOL aircraft which uses a proprietary twelve-tilt-six propeller configuration and is intended for short-distance trips of around 20 miles (32km) with a rapid charging time of approximately 10 minutes. Midnight has a maximum range of 100 miles (160km).
