FutureFlight
Archer Resumes Test Flights with eVTOL Technology Demonstrator
The company is using a subscale version of its four-passenger eVTOL aircraft to help engineers complete the final design.
Archer Maker eVTOL technology demonstrator
Archer has resumed test flights with its Maker eVTOL aircraft technology demonstrator. (Image: Archer Aviation)

Archer Aviation has resumed test flights with its Maker eVTOL technology demonstrator aircraft six months after the subscale model made its first short hover flight in mid-December. In a June 21 blog, chief engineer Geoff Bower reported that flights restarted last week with what he said was the first use of the two-seat aircraft’s new tilt propeller system (TPS) that is deployed for hover control.

According to Archer, the availability of the TPS clears the way for it to expand the flight test envelope as it seeks to achieve a full transition from vertical to horizontal flight by the end of 2022. In April, the California-based company told shareholders it will unveil the first full-sized “production-intent” example of its planned four-passenger eVTOL in 2023. Archer had previously indicated this would be achieved by the end of this year.