Charles Alcock

<p>News and developments about airplanes, helicopters and unmanned air vehicles used in all varieties of operations, including airlines, military, business, commercial, general aviation and private.</p>


<p>News about bills, laws, regulations and other governmental decisions affecting aviation and aerospace. Topics include FAA re-authorizations, taxes on fuel and aviation activities, environmental legislation, ICAO decisions, governmental mediation of labor conflicts and World Trade Organization disputes and decisions.</p>


<p>News and information on safety procedures and concerns.</p>


Questions remain as to whether EASA will validate the FAA's performance-based approach

EASA and FAA To Address eVTOL Certification at Safety Conference

Hanneke Weitering

A smooth certification process could see Midnight begin flying passengers in 2025

FAA Finalizes Airworthiness Criteria for Midnight eVTOL Aircraft

<p>News about simulators and training procedures, as well as workforce.</p>


Etihad Aviation Training will receive a Midnight eVTOL simulator

Archer Taps Etihad To Recruit and Train eVTOL Pilots in UAE

<p>Issues regarding financing of aircraft; aviation insurance; tax issues for aircraft operators; new companies and people in the aviation financing and insurance industries.</p>


Q1 expenses were bloated by non-recurring payments to suppliers and lawsuit charges

Archer Expects To Cut eVTOL Aircraft Development Costs in Q2

<p>News and issues concerning the aviation charter and fractional-ownership industries and markets, including company announcements, regulations, new developments and labor issues.</p>


<p>News about environmental issues relating to aircraft operations, including noise issues, emissisions, and regulations. See Fuel for biofuel.</p>


Local operators Falcon Aviation and Air Chateau will fly the four-passenger Midnight vehicle

Abu Dhabi Backs eVTOL Air Taxi Services With Archer and Joby

California-based eVTOL developer builds momentum for FAA certification

Archer Aviation Opens Policy Hub in Washington, D.C.

Services will operate from Falcon Aviation's heliports in the UAE

Falcon and Archer Launch Abu Dhabi-Dubai eVTOL Flights

<p><span><span><span>Archer this week said it is on track to launch commercial flights with its four-passenger Midnight eVTOL aircraft in 2025. Reporting year-end financial results on Monday, the company said that at the end of the fourth quarter of 2023, it had overall liquidity of around $625 million as it embarks on the latter stages of an FAA type certification process it aims to complete this year.</span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span>With three more certification-conforming prototypes now being built, Archer aims&nbsp;to expand its<a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2023-10-25/archers-midnight-evtol-prototype-aircraft-makes-first-flight"> flight test program</a> and achieve 400 test flights in 2024. The company said it also expects to complete the construction of its series production facility in Georgia this year with automotive group Stellantis, which is its main strategic partner and investor.</span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span>In 2023, Archer’s operating expenses totaled $446.9 million and its cash and cash equivalents were reported at $464.6 million. For the first quarter of 2024, the company expects to have operating expenses of between $100 million and $120 million. The net loss for 2023 was $457.9 million.</span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span>“The Archer team is excited to announce that Midnight is now in the final phase of its certification program,” commented CEO Adam Goldstein. “With the vast majority of the aircraft’s subsystems and components being sourced from leading aerospace suppliers with certification heritage, we have a significantly de-risked path to certification from here. For Archer, 2024 will be all about building conforming Midnight aircraft to be used for piloted credit testing with the FAA and completing the build-out, along with Stellantis, of our volume manufacturing facility in Georgia.”</span></span></span></p>


Managing Editor

Archer Presses Ahead with Midnight eVTOL Flight Testing and Production Plans

<p>Archer Aviation has completed the first of three phases in the flight test campaign for its Midnight eVTOL air taxi and is on track to begin certification testing with the FAA later this year, the California-based company announced January 31. Archer aims to have the all-electric, four-passenger aircraft in commercial service by the end of 2025, starting with routes between airports and city centers.</p>
<p>The Midnight prototype achieved its <a href="https://futureflight.aero/news-article/2023-10-25/archers-midnight-evtol-prototype-aircraft-makes-first-flight">first hover flights</a> in October 2023 and has been routinely flying for the past three months at Archer’s test facilities in Salinas, California. Archer also has been flying a two-seat technology demonstrator called Maker since 2019, and it achieved the first <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2022-12-01/archer-achieves-first-full-transition-flight-its-maker-evtol-demonstrator">transition flight</a> with the Maker aircraft in December 2022. Transitioning from hover to cruise is a key milestone in the development of any eVTOL aircraft, and this will take place during the second phase of Midnight’s flight test campaign, according to Archer.&nbsp;</p>
<p>For the initial phase of Midnight’s flight test campaign, the remotely piloted prototype executed “an array of progressively more complex flight maneuvers,” including pedal turns and chirp signal tests to evaluate the aircraft’s roll, pitch, and yaw handling qualities. Archer also conducted critical azimuth testing to assess the aircraft’s crosswind capabilities, and it worked with the FAA to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6kwVLQjm_c&amp;ab_channel=Archer">test the downwash Midnight generates</a> during takeoff and landing. The company says it recently upgraded the powertrain on the Midnight prototype to include the first <a href="https://futureflight.aero/news-article/2022-11-19/archer-details-motor-and-battery-design-midnight-evtol-air-taxi">high-voltage battery packs</a> assembled at its pilot manufacturing line in San Jose.&nbsp;</p>
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<p>The second phase of Midnight’s flight test campaign will involve what Archer calls an “incremental approach” to speed testing, with the aircraft beginning to angle its six tilting propellers from a vertical to a horizontal orientation to propel itself forward. As it gains horizontal speed, the wing provides increasingly more lift, and eventually the aircraft will transition into fully wingborne flight. Phase 2 of flight testing will culminate with Midnight’s first transition flights. Archer says the Midnight aircraft will have a maximum cruise speed of 150 mph (240 kph), but it doesn’t necessarily need to go that fast to achieve a transition flight. The Maker aircraft transitions to cruise at a speed of about 87 knots (100 mph or 160 kph).&nbsp;</p>
<p>For Phase 3, Archer plans to fly the Midnight aircraft on simulated commercial routes. The company says these flights will demonstrate the aircraft’s operational readiness ahead of the for-credit FAA testing it expects to begin later this year. It is building six additional Midnight prototypes at its San Jose facilities specifically for the purposes of FAA certification testing, and the first of those “FAA-conforming” aircraft will be used for the first flight with a pilot on board.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Archer says it expects the Midnight aircraft to deliver a range of up to 100 miles (160 km) on a single charge, but the electric air taxi is optimized for shorter back-to-back flights of around 20 miles (32 km) with 10 minutes of recharging in between trips. The company is planning to launch commercial air taxi routes in major U.S. cities such as <a href="https://futureflight.aero/news-article/2022-11-09/archer-and-united-airlines-announce-evtol-air-taxi-route-between-manhattan">New York City</a> and <a href="https://futureflight.aero/news-article/2023-03-23/archer-and-united-airlines-reveal-first-air-taxi-route-chicago">Chicago</a> with its partner United Airlines in 2025, with international operations launching in <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2023-11-16/dubai-heliport-operator-plans-purchase-archers-midnight-evtol-air-taxi">Dubai and Abu Dhabi</a> the following year.</p>


Science & Technology Editor

Archer Revs Up Flight Tests With Midnight eVTOL Air Taxi

<p>New developments at FBOs including regulations and noise issues; legal disputes; openings, acquisitions and mergers.</p>


<p>News and developments about aviation fuel, including jet fuel, aviation gasoline, and biofuel.</p>


<p>News and issues relating to business, corporate and private aviation, primarily regarding turbine-engine-powered airplanes and helicopters. Subjects include aircraft, engines, maintenance, operations, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security, and training.</p>


Archer Aviation

News

EASA and FAA To Address eVTOL Certification at Safety Conference

FAA Finalizes Airworthiness Criteria for Midnight eVTOL Aircraft

Archer Taps Etihad To Recruit and Train eVTOL Pilots in UAE

Archer Expects To Cut eVTOL Aircraft Development Costs in Q2

Abu Dhabi Backs eVTOL Air Taxi Services With Archer and Joby

Archer Aviation Opens Policy Hub in Washington, D.C.

Falcon and Archer Launch Abu Dhabi-Dubai eVTOL Flights

Archer Presses Ahead with Midnight eVTOL Flight Testing and Production Plans

Archer Revs Up Flight Tests With Midnight eVTOL Air Taxi

Atlantic, Joby, and Archer Plan for eVTOL FBO Services

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