LONDON – US eVTOL company Archer Aviation Inc. is confident that its flight testing program will reach its goal of flying full transition flights with Maker by the end of the year.
The Archer team spent the first half of the year in upgrading and testing the aircraft’s Tilt Propeller System (TPS). The tests have so far proven successful.
On the strength of its testing program to date, the company is confident that its progress from first hover flight through to full transition flight will be the fastest that any eVTOL company has taken to reach this milestone.
Archer believe that their industry leading talent and their focus on using key enabling technologies that are in the market today have unlocked this historic progress.
Testing the Maker
Maker is Archer Aviation’s electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) prototype aircraft. Maker successfully completed its first hover test flight in December 2021.
Following that initial hover flight test, the engineering team spent the following months focused on advancing the development and testing of the systems needed to progress to the full transition flight phase as efficiently as possible.
Flight testing during the most recent phase has centered around various hover scenarios to analyze the Tilt Propeller System whilst in the air.
As testing progresses, the flight envelope will be progressively expanded with flights at increasing climb and descent rates, and at varying airspeeds.
Archer plans to continue to conduct multiple flight tests weekly as the campaign continues into the second half of this year.
Archer management statements
Adam Goldstein, Archer’s Chief Executive Officer and founder, said:
“What differentiates Archer from other players in our industry is our approach to commercialization as well as our laser focus on achieving that goal.”
“The advancements we are making in our flight test campaign are nothing short of remarkable. I wake up every day inspired by our team.”
“Our recent test flights with Maker have shown impressive results,” said Dr. Geoff Bower, Chief Engineer of Archer.
Dr. Bower oversees Maker’s flight test campaign and brings over a decade of experience in the eVTOL aircraft industry. Bower has helped design and build 5 previous generations of full-scale eVTOL aircraft and completed successful flight test campaigns.
“The rigorous testing our team has completed over the past several months has helped not only validate our design, but also furthers our mission to certify our production aircraft,” he concluded.
About Archer Aviation Inc.
Archer’s mission is to advance the benefits of sustainable air mobility. Archer’s goal is to move people throughout the world’s cities in a quick, safe, sustainable, and cost-effective manner.
Archer is designing and developing electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft for use in urban air mobility networks. Archer’s team is based in Santa Clara, CA.
The eVTOL market
Factors of rising air traffic congestion, rapid advances in technology, and the benefit of relatively low maintenance costs have driven testing and development of eVTOL product.
Expect to see more from this aviation sector in the near future.
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