Archer Aviation, the California-based start-up, announced that it will reveal the initial production version of Midnight aircraft at an Open House event on November 16, 2022.
The company will provide further details on the aircraft’s specifications and capabilities at the event, including its proprietary electric powertrain system, as well as the company’s progress toward FAA certification of the Midnight aircraft.
Midnight is Archer’s piloted-plus-four-passenger eVTOL air taxi, which it intends to sell to customers like United Airlines and utilize in its planned urban air mobility service. The air taxi will have a range of up to 100 miles (160 km) on a single charge. It is mostly intended for shorter, successive flights of around 20 miles (32 km), with about 10 minutes of charging time required between each trip.
In August of this year, the company announced that it had completed the preliminary design review for the new aircraft, which it says is on track to enter service in the United States in 2025. Also in August, United Airlines made a $10m pre-delivery payment for 100 of the Midnight aircraft, further signaling the carrier’s confidence in the aircraft’s development.
In addition to announcements about Midnight’s technical capabilities, attendees of the Open House will have the opportunity to view a test flight of the company’s full-scale technology demonstrator at Archer’s flight test facility.
