Archer to Fly Midnight eVTOL Demo Tour in Northern California
Archer Aviation plans city-to-city demonstration flights of its Midnight air taxi in Northern California, aiming to showcase the aircraft's capabilities ahead of the 2028 Olympics and FAA's integration pilot program.
Archer Aviation will begin a series of city-to-city demonstration flights of its Midnight electric air taxi in Northern California. The company announced the "No Roads" tour on Thursday, following about 70 test flights of the Midnight prototype in August.
The flights will focus on routes that take an hour or more to drive but could be flown in 10 to 20 minutes, according to Archer. The company said the tour is intended to showcase the aircraft's low noise, zero operating emissions, and ability to avoid traffic.
Archer framed the demonstrations as a step toward operational readiness for planned service at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games and for the FAA's eVTOL Integration Pilot Program, in which precertified aircraft will fly into airports nationwide.
The company said it will share data from the tour with the FAA to help guide development of operational rules for electric air taxis. Archer founder and CEO Adam Goldstein said the tour is the company's biggest step yet toward making air taxis an everyday reality.
Sources
- flyingmag.comPilots Could Glimpse Archer’s eVTOL Air Taxi at California Airports