Archer Aviation has announced the proposed Airworthiness Criteria for its Midnight aircraft has been published in the Federal Register by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), believed to be a significant milestone towards commercializing urban air mobility (UAM) in the U.S.
As part of the FAA’s Type Certification process for special class aircraft, the Airworthiness Criteria (the certification requirements for the particular aircraft) must be published in the Federal Register. Following the comment period, the FAA will finalize the Airworthiness Criteria for Archer’s Midnight aircraft.
Adam Goldstein, Archer’s Founder and CEO, said: “From day one Archer’s strategy has always been about finding the most efficient path to commercializing eVTOL aircraft,” said Adam Goldstein, Archer’s Founder and CEO. Today’s publication of our Airworthiness Criteria in the Federal Register is further validation of our strategy and our leadership position in the market.”
Eric Wright, Head of Certification at Archer, commented: “Synchronizing the design of our Midnight aircraft with our certification efforts has long been a cornerstone of our commercialization strategy. This ‘design for certification’ approach has enabled our timeline by allowing us to prioritize decisions that optimize our aircraft for FAA compliance. The FAA has been an invaluable partner in this journey, as evidenced by the recent publication of our airworthiness criteria to the Federal Register. This is yet another important step forward as we continue to build on our growing momentum towards Type Certification and the launch of commercial business operations.”
According to Archer, Midnight is designed to be safe, sustainable, quiet, can carry four passengers plus a pilot, with an expected payload of over 1,000 pounds, and is optimized for back-to-back 20-mile trips, with a charging time of approximately 10 minutes in between trips
Archer is working to certify Midnight with the FAA in late 2024 and will then use it as part of its UAM network, which it plans to launch in 2025.
