Archer Unveils Midnight Production eVTOL

Urban air mobility (UAM) company Archer Aviation officially unveiled the production version of its electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) design on Thursday. Called Midnight, the aircraft is an “evolution” of the company’s Maker eVTOL, which completed its first hover flight in December 2021. Archer is targeting late 2024 for FAA certification of the Midnight with the goal of using it to launch an air taxi network in 2025.

“From day one Archer’s strategy has always been about finding the most efficient path to commercializing eVTOL aircraft,” said Archer founder and CEO Adam Goldstein. “We believe our strategy and team's ability to execute on it has allowed us to establish our leadership position in the market, and is why we are confident we will be the first company to certify an eVTOL aircraft in the US with the FAA.”

Archer noted that Maker and Midnight share its proprietary twelve-motor configuration along with “key enabling technologies” such as the flight control system. Designed to fly trips of around 20 miles with a 10-minute charge time in between flights, Midnight is expected to seat a pilot and four passengers and carry a payload of around 1,000 pounds. According to Archer, Midnight will cruise at approximately 2,000 feet AGL with noise levels at the ground expected to measure around 45 A-weighted decibels (dBA).