LONDON – California US based Archer Aviation, an electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft producer has announced today that it is pledging to manufacture 250 eVTOL battery powered electric air taxis by year 2025 as a part of cleaner flying and to enhance innovative transportation system.
This announcement has come to highlights after Archer Aviation stated that it is in the process of acquiring eVTOL aircraft certification by the end of 2024, which will boost their pledge to achieve 250 eVTOL air taxi production by 2025.
The Midnight eVTOL
Named ‘Midnight’, the electric powered air taxi which will have a combined capacity of five passengers including pilot and four passengers is in full swing to gain all requisite FAA certifications and implement all rules of eVTOL operations.
Midnight at its full capacity payload has a range of 60 miles at a speed of 150mph, based on contemporary battery technology and available resources. However, Archer Aviation is determined to develop even faster, sustainable and affordable transportation in near future with advancement of technology in eVTOL segment.
The sleek design of Archer Aviation’s Midnight makes it stand apart from rest of the programs, with its six tilted propellors for forward and VTOL flight manoeuvres and six fixed propellors for VTOL only flight operations along with sleek fuselage consisting of high main wing, a V-tail and tricycle fixed landing gear system.
With its prime focus on densely populated metropolitan cities with heavy traffic congestion, Archer Aviation also plans to integrate this eVTOL air taxi system as a part of intramodal transportation systems in tier 1 and tier 2 cities, with emphasis on reach, developing a unique air taxi system.
Highlighting this strategy, Archer Aviation’s websites stated that “Our goal is to make our electric aircraft just as safe as commercial airliners.”
Archer Aviation ambition
Irrespective, strong backing and support from various giant corporations like Toyota Motor Corporation and Delta Air Lines, yet the overall eVTOL sector has been facing tremendous hurdles in certifications, battery technology, upgrades and most importantly in air traffic management system, as Reuters has reported in past.
Despite this speculation, Archer aviation has shown strong determination in their pledge. Speaking on this occasion, Adam Goldstein, CEO of Archer Aviation said that “In our first year, we will build 250 aircraft, our second year will build 500 aircraft, our third year will build 650 aircraft, and then we will scale it up to around 2000 aircraft per year.”
This bold ambition of Archer can be evaluated with recent development from August 2022, with US aerospace firm Jaunt Air Mobility and South Korea based MintAir signed a strategic partnership to equip MintAir with 40 Juant Journey eVTOL aircrafts to fulfil MintAir’s ambitions to enter this segment, as reported by Reuters.
With their first demonstration flight in December 2021, Archer Aviation has come long way to establish their stronghold in the eVTOL market. Archer Aviation has expressed that, on completion of certification, its eVTOL aircraft is expected to compete in the market alongside developers like Joby Aviation and Vertical Aerospace.
Concluding on this note, Adam Goldstein stated that “We are expecting that industry could see demand for 1,000 eVTOLs on a yearly basis.”
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