Archer Midnight To Commence Commercial Ops In 2025 It has been a long road for Archer Aviation but the light at the end of the tunnel for them is becoming brighter. Since October 2023, Archer has been fully testing a full-sized midnight prototype and it is currently assembling 3 more units that will be used in FAA Certification testing campaign. On May 23, the company announced that it has been given its final airworthiness criteria for the Midnight aircraft.
Archer is now the second manufacturer to cross this crucial sphere in its development with Joby being the other who was given final airworthiness criteria from the FAA in April. These two manufacturers have the clearest path to full certification in 2025 if they do not experience any unforeseen issues along the way. The Midnight will be carrying four passengers and is designed to fly 100 nautical miles although realistically will not fly more than 20 or 30 nautical miles given its expected air taxi role.
The current demonstrator is on course to fly 400 flights by the end of this year. The team is working on getting the aircraft to establish the transitionary flight credentials needed for operations. That is moving from hover mode into forward flight. "Midnight is one giant step closer to taking passengers into the sky in the coming years in the U.S.," said Archer chief regulatory affairs officer Billy Nolen. The certification process will not be straightforward though. eVTOL air taxi developers seeking certification must follow a "special class" process as defined in 14 CFR 21.17(b). This is because the FAA does not have airworthiness standards for aircraft in the powered-lift category...yet. For more information: Archer Aviation 190 W Tasman Dr, San Jose, CA 95134, United States www.archer.com ***
