Archer Aims to Revolutionize Air Travel With Its Midnight eVTOL Air Taxi - FutureFlight

Archer Aviation is one of countless aerospace start-ups promising to revolutionize air travel by building and operating new electric-vertical-takeoff-and-landing (eVTOL) aircraft. The company’s four-seat eVTOL air taxi, called Midnight, is on track to achieve FAA type certification and begin transporting passengers in the U.S. as early as 2025. In partnership with United Airlines, Archer will start out flying customers between airports and city centers. As Archer expands its network of flight routes in the following years, it will also drastically ramp up production of its Midnight aircraft, with plans calling for 2,300 aircraft to be built per year at its new factory in Georgia. FutureFlight caught up with Archer’s chief operating officer Tom Muniz at Heli-Expo 2023 in Atlanta to discuss how the company plans to execute its ambitious plans.
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[@BWRunderground]

Congratulations fam. United is on my team with the FAA. I’m working on new flight plans.😊

[@wtfskilz]

Being a Taxi driver sucks, but being a Taxi Pilot rocks.

[@DevilishlyDashing]

I was just gonna ask where do we train to be a pilot for these?!

[@1lovelucas]

another one to look at is Joby aviation

[@sandyt4343]

I’m betting on both of them. There’s such a huge market for this type of service that there is certainly room for the two top runners to have more opportunities than they can fill for quite a while.

[@BWRunderground]

Great company! I’ve been looking into them.

[@NoGufff]

These will be ideal for shuttling between the hyperloop station and the space port.

[@smishize]

🤣

[@BWRunderground]

Excited to see them on Manitoulin!

[@Ont785]

No pilot…no chance

[@caesarsspirit]

Future is now

[@HungMandyRu-fw7tc]

Nice good ❤

[@randyreynolds1045]

Archer is the best❤

[@drgeoffangel5422]

For the ideal E plane, you need versatility; the ability to either, take off and land vertically, or conventionally as a normal plane. You need to be able to fly as a conventional plane, utilising wing lift and not rely on lift motors to maintain level horizontal flight. The concept that satisifies these requirements can be found in the Osprey, Valour V-280, and other similar tilt wing concepts , whereby the lift propellers , and or wings, can be orientated horizontally for horizontal flight, and rotated vertical for landing. Additionally the ideal craft should have the ability to take off and land conventionally with the aid of a wheeled undercarriage, for maximum operational flexibility. Having too many lift engines and rotors is dead weight and an uneccessary payload penalty that will keep the craft from maximising its potential range. You could say that the weight of undercarriages are also dead weight, however the ability to land conventionally is a must for safety reasons. Also the craft could save much power if in operation, sometimes it could take off conventionally, and land vertically. For what it's worth!

[@hugh_jasso]

A thought.. if the rear motors rotated down and back for flight they could have a push pull configuration rather than the rear motors flipped up and off during flight.

[@boitshepojoy2511]

ice thought cause it reduces drag thus making it more efficient 👍

[@ryanwood6006]

How do you get a career in this evtol field with no prior experience?

[@rossnolan7283]

Just like they do - learn to lie ,bullshit to get huge amounts of money and spend a lot of it on huge spectacular 'unveiling' ceremonies etc etc

[@skyloveglobalnelsonbarbonc8009]

#its working now

[@BlueEyed888]

It would be very refreshing if Archer were transparent about its certification progress - like JOBY is with each earnings report. Also, Archer seriously needs to get the weight down on Midnight - just sayin. & I hope the cash burn doesn't sink them, competition is a healthy thing.

[@skyloveglobalnelsonbarbonc8009]

We can make it together to fly in to future the EVTOL OUR NEW TRSNFOTATION

[@andrewjamez]

For short range flight electric helicopters make total sense. An evtol with 12 motors does not. I cant believe e helis are not at the forefront of electrifying technology. And spear me the comments of suggesting evtols will be cheap to run and maintain because they won't.

[@paulsalerno6154]

Actually the six independent battery/dual engine systems create redundancy and elevate safety. Only the designers know (and time will tell) if maintenance costs will be affordable.

[@howardtibbsthethird]

… What would the numbers be if this craft was fueled by gasoline???

[@wonderlandzhao1514]

I still dont understand the difference between this and helicopter？

[@bobvelez4598]

For one of the many things - way quieter - huge deal in many settings.

[@mhxxd4]

I guess noise doesn't exist

[@helifanodobezanozi7689]

LOL! They've been doing decibel level testing now for years. They are waaayyyy more quiet than a helicopter. Eight small propellers don't make anywhere near the noise as 1, large, high-speed propeller!

[@DanFrederiksen]

Somewhat interesting but it's a complex large vehicle that's targeting an existing market with a product that isn't really revolutionary. Similar price range as existing helicopters I suspect, maybe a bit cheaper, maybe cheaper to operate, probably a bit quieter but no real change. Largely same market as existing helicopters. Shorter range, some infrastructure needs. I remain a much bigger believer in 1-2 seat autonomous ultralights because they can open a vastly bigger new market. Quite possibly so quiet that it can be allowed to take people from LAX directly to their homes on the lawn. A trip to LAX in minutes with no notice. Or even intracity from a party place in the middle of the night to home. With good engineering it can be a 3 second woosh and it's gone. If done well it can be a replacement for a car for the affluent player. Maybe even inexpensive at which point it's a bee revolution. The big archer has no such revolution potential and it's vastly more expensive to develop.

[@rossnolan7283]

Quite so,- the ill begotten Boeing sponsored "GoFly" fiasco had some poorly formed conception of individual travel by air but crucified the whole thing by the senseless stipulation that it be no \bigger than an 8.5 foot 'diameter' 'pseudo sphere' -look it up but don;t expect any reason why this bizarre constraint was imposed . Anything meant to be 'door to door' has to be able to roll down the road that all doors pretty much open to - many people live under tree canopy and so forth so landing on the lawn is out but door to door with short road segments is feasible but needs ATOL to work (not power hungry failure prone and nasty VTOL......)

[@PiggoNZ]

Significantly fewer moving parts than a conventional ICE helicopter, which will lower the cost. But i agree, it's still going to be expensive and a niche market.

[@lucasmcdowell9360]

Is there a company you recommend looking into that’s currently working on developing an ultralight 1-2 person helicopter that you’re describing? Also if we really ramped up production and use of something like this, do we even currently have enough pilots to support this industry, or would these ideally be fully autonomous and require no pilot to be present?

[@DanFrederiksen]

@@lucasmcdowell9360 no they are all doing it wrong, some more than others. PteroDynamics is doing a drone though that's a fairly clever configuration, similar to what I'm suggesting but they don't seem clear on the one person thing or autonomy etc and they've been at it for several years too. But that's the closest I've seen to an intelligent configuration. Otherwise they get trapped by SUV nonsense thinking. It has to be 4-6 seats etc so they end up with a helicopter with much the same limitations as helicopters that have very limited use. As opposed to the scifi that a light single could be. Low noise footprint, low cost, small landing footprint so it can fit many places. If you need a helipad it's dead.

[@lucasmcdowell9360]

@@DanFrederiksen thanks for the reply, exactly what I was thinking watching this other than it’s all electric I don’t see any other obvious advantages. Maybe the smaller blades are quieter? Yet how much more fragile are they

[@corporalpunishment1133]

Anyone ever payed to get a propeller overhauled? Why not have 12 propellers? Admittedly electric motors deliver smooth power so it will be longer between overhauls.

[@NicoDev55]

How many passengers does it take? What would the cost per ticket be? Why would I take a plane to the airport instead of a Taxi or Train? I see fundamental problems with the business model.

[@itisim]

Lol take a taxi then you have trafiic

[@michaelisaacson9735]

Huh, I thought uptalking was done.

[@danlowery5552]

Am all for us moving into the quantum generation as of Jan 2023. I got a question. where are we plan to park or land this craft. If you are only providing short range flys. It is better for me to drive. The reason you are going to cost me more money. because after we land. I've got to get a taxi. That's going to cost me more then the cost to fly. reason you maybe 10 miles from my work. $3.80 just to start a taxi and then more per mile. I'll drive myself till you and anyone else can come up with flying car that can land any where.

[@rossnolan7283]

Don't bring basic economics into this fantasy tale -- doesn't everyone take a taxi to and from work NOW ? and tip the driver $50 ? Didn't you pay attention to the 'unveiling' of the Archer Maker showing two wild haired young wokesters traipsing off into the desert while their AirUber hovered away not even disturbing the sand ? Or the 'exploration' and 'adventure' you could look forward to with something having an operational radius of 30 miles ...? That million dollar extravaganza complete with solo violin and orchestra, IMAX type screens etc would have awed Cecil B deMille but seemed a bit short on facts or reality. The show goes on.

[@helifanodobezanozi7689]

This is not private transportation, like a car. It is public transportation like a small airport shuttle van. The idea is to start flying between already existing helipads and the airport. Because these are electric, they can easily build pads on the top levels of parking structures or in vacant lots. Reason, no aviation fuel or complicated ground infrastructure is required, just power. And as far as getting to the EVTOL port, Archer's competitor, Joby, will be teaming up with Uber. You'd book the entire trip, ground and air, through the Uber appp. No taxis required. Archer will probably do something similar, maybe with Lyft.

[@rossnolan7283]

@@helifanodobezanozi7689 Parrotting Archer blurb doesn't actually answer valid crucial questions -- present helipads are almost exclusively private and hardly if ever used -or medevac/patient transfer (lots of stats available) neither do they have plug in power able to rapidly recharge thousands of horsepower, Sao Paulo is about the only ,still\small scale operator of helicopters - doesn't snow there or get massive fronts etc . The parking space required for each vehicle not exactly currently in use (in the thousands even...) precludes the fantasy of rooftop 'pads' "close' to anywhere you are or want to go and 'vacant lots'? ... - anyway just wait for the lawsuit presently in train to play out and former Wisk,Airbus et all disloyal and klepto employees lured by big money to betray their former employers and hand over hard won know how to Archer (who, as the depositions rightly note is 'founded' (was CO founded) by two moneyhandlers with no engineering or manufacturing competence ("Flighthouse engineering' is another 'ex' competitor turncoat creditted with 'their' design but traceable to Larry Paige's money --incestuous and incompetent all round . Frank Stephenson is another creditted with 'designing Archer ' -- taking other people's money and selling hoopla seems to be the core business. Time will (soon) tell.

[@helifanodobezanozi7689]

@@rossnolan7283 LOL!!!! "Helipads are privately held and hardly used.".......Soooo.......you're saying the owners of a commercial highrise, many of which are in dire straits with 50-70% vacancy due to the work from home trend WOULDN'T sign a lease agreement for cash for the use of the helipad they "hardly use".....WHAT PLANET ARE YOU FROM? Also, can you answer why both Archer and Joby have received so much attention from the US Department of Defense? Joby already has a $131 million dollar contract with the USAF as of this April. Archer has a testing agreement with the Air Force as well. Also Archer just hosted the Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) Interagency Working Group 2 days ago. This group is comprised of DOT, White House, FAA, NASA, FCC, DOD, NTIA, and other agencies. Either Archer has the entire US Federal government fooled, or you're pulling your statement completely out of you azz!!!! From the smell of it, my money is on it coming from your azz!!! 😆

[@rossnolan7283]

@@helifanodobezanozi7689 Whilst your gibberish is unworthy of notice or reply others may be misled (again) by your shill display -and may also lose their shirts as a result. Maybe somebody DID look into 'helipad utilization ' and how many VTOLS can sit on any given pad at once (hint;- less than two ) Any decent gust will blow these things over the side most likely at the point of lift off where they have almost no 'weight' but lots of exposed wing and (unblown) tail area unlike helicopters that remain 'planted' while the rotor stores extra energy at zero or slight negative pitch and then instantly transition under full control. No doubt some desperate landlords might grab at some proferred cash but surely you don't think they will make up for hundreds of empty offices below or install lifts all the way to the roof , super high voltage charging, massive insurance, passenger facilities etc etc etc just on the off chance their building will be favoured by Archer - the nominal helipads existing now are relics . It would be better for . CONGRESS to 'answer' (question) why they have received so much money from the DoD, White House, et al --just as the much vaunted MAXWELL X57 NASA did and flopped completely - for that matter why tulips became worth more than gold at one time (Tulipmania - look it up since you likely aren't well read or educated ) Thinking 'too big to fail' or 'they can't all be wrong' etc as you display leads to Enron, Lehmann bros, Theranos etc etc and the inevitable bubble burst . Any major military activity within, what ,30 miles is 'threatened' by these airbone slugs that can barely lift off at all, carry bugger all payload and will be good for target practice by an enemy with BB guns. Jeez, forming acronym rich committees is the sign of sure success eh? Smelling arses (asses) is your self described analytic method so along with brown nosing for Archer keep at it . More than ten years ago I crossed swords with Mark Moore on an aircraft design forum (after personal emailing going back to before 2003 ) about his baseless claim that DEP would increase the efficiency of aircraft like the MAWELL by '500 %' or "between five and ten times"over existing lightaircraft -- well, Uber spent a lot of somebody's money on his piffle (Uber elevate) as did Eclipse . Just stop and take a look at how much crap is hanging off the Archer (or Wisk) contraptions --you call that efficient ? or safe ? The intellectual property theft and backstabbing by all those involved should be punished along with the penalties imposed by a court as punitive damages . Let us hope so, it is the "Helifant' in the room you choose to ignore - no good can come of this venal treachery.

[@ccie8000]

another Nikola in the making

[@helifanodobezanozi7689]

So.....did Nikola have the US Department of Defense making inquiries and plans for testing? 😂

[@sergiodesouzajunior3962]

Compro 500.000 unidades para a marinha do Brasil rio de janeiro

[@PiggoNZ]

CAT

[@InvestorSpeed]

in the development phase and already saying production numbers 😆 🤣 😂 😹

[@awakenedgraphics4023]

Already have a $10 million pre order from United 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@user-td3du7jk2x]

Too many moving parts. Why not just buy a chopper?

[@helifanodobezanozi7689]

LOL! Being electric, it is actually far simpler than a helicopter. (Unless you actually think that a jet turbine engine is complicated than an electric motor!) Also, there is far more redundancy present, which makes it safer, less maintenance intensive and more reliable.

[@user-td3du7jk2x]

@@helifanodobezanozi7689 It isn't complication, it is a lack of faith in the equipment. An ICE Chopper is confirmed to fly until the juice runs out unless there is a catastrophic failure. EV anything can be caused to fail by simple things like too much weight or even normal weather. And then there is quality over quantity, I will always trust one or two big rotors over a cluster of small ones.

[@helifanodobezanozi7689]

@@user-td3du7jk2x Hahaha! You do realize there are basically electric moters built into that ICE jet turbine, right? Or that there are multiple single points of failure on a conventional helicopter? For instance, if you loose your tail rotor, you're as dead as fried chicken. Also, last time I checked, ICE engines usually require not just fuel, but coolant, hydraulic fluid, lubricant and, oh yes batteries! They are also still subject to weather conditions. The Midnight not only has 4 independent engines (1 of which it can loose and still function normally), but also wings that it can glide with as well as potentially still being able to use auto-rotation to land like a helicopter. 😆

[@stevieathome4942]

Is he sure of what he's saying? Voice inflects upward - seen as uncertainty.

[@TicoM0la]

Mark my words.. these guys will never certify the aircraft.

[@camaranpayne5355]

Mark my words. You're very wrong

[@meow121.5]

so dumb -chopper pilot

[@igorivanov4579]

Глупая схема.

[@helifanodobezanozi7689]

I'm sure Igor Sikorsky heard similar criticism before moving to the US. By all means, keep that attitude! We'll wave at you as we fly by!!! 😂

[@My-Opinion-Doesnt-Matter]

BS

[@rossnolan7283]

"Developing our own motors and batteries...' translate , the payload fraction (15%) is so marginal we need to squeeze the power system to the max . With such huge frontal swept area bird strikes, aspecially being at low levels, will be much more common and with those ridiculously long pylons a lost blade will tear it off the wing and result in catastrophic loss of control, probably involve the next pylon and be total destruction - any prop imbalance will result in whirl flutter The overall design is inelegant to say the least (in both engineering terms and aesthetics - only the Wisk 'clone' is uglier or clutzyer and both parties are fighting over who is responsible - like two bald men fighting over a comb . Perhaps they will mutually annihilate and spare us all.

[@CJ0923]

What is your area of expertise? Besides arrogant wienerage?

[@ratherbeflying101]

electric aircraft in rain or snow? god help you. Electrical storm? Lightning? 😅😅😅😅 Seriously???

[@gioneo8330]

For rain or snow it will have the same problems as helicopter which already flies . For electric storm and lighting it has static dischargers

[@christopherwarsh]

You thought Boeing had problems… just wait till they have their first crash 😮

[@skyloveglobalnelsonbarbonc8009]

Follow AIN AVIATION😎😎😎😎🌐🌏🌎🌍🌎🌏🌐 E WORLDWIDE

[@grizzly3133]

Its all baloney ........they all raise money and get rich...the fisker business plal think how long it will take toyota if ever to get back 400 million investment What he described already exists

[@bobvelez4598]

Uh.... no

[@valhalla9688]

It’s a scam

[@roseonthebeat6352]

How?

[@deadwingdomain]

VTOLs just got grounded for their danger an difficulty to pilot. Not the best idea.

[@syoung6126]

Doing some vib on a prototype engine

[@NapoleonHistory-ku5cp]

@napoleonhistoryiopacpa j44 aircraft