Archer Aviation is a publicly traded company headquartered in

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...

, which is developing

eVTOL An electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft is a variety of VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) aircraft that uses electric power to hover, take off, and land vertically. This technology came about thanks to major advances in elec ...

aircraft. Its eVTOL aircraft are planned to transport people in and around cities in an

air taxi An air taxi is a small commercial aircraft that makes short flights on demand. In 2001 air taxi operations were promoted in the United States by a NASA and aerospace industry study on the potential Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) an ...

service and are claimed to have a range of up to at speeds of up to .

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

is its first major corporate partner, having ordered two hundred Archer electric aircraft.

Aircraft and air taxi service

Maker, Archer's first demonstrator aircraft, was unveiled on June 10, 2021, at an event in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. Maker is a two-passenger fully electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft with 12 electric propellers: six tilt-props (each with five blades) for forward and VTOL flight and six stationary propellers (each propeller with two blades) for VTOL-only flight. Maker is designed to travel at up to over . The aircraft is powered by six independent battery packs. In November 2021, Archer moved Maker from its headquarters to its flight test facility to start initial test flights. Maker also received its airworthiness certificate from the FAA in December 2021. Archer also completed its first flight in December 2021. Archer's aerial ridesharing service, also referred to as Urban Air Mobility (UAM), has been pushed back one year to 2025 and is planned to begin operations in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

and

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. Archer is working with Urban Movement Labs and the Los Angeles Department of Transportation to help build the necessary infrastructure and service routes. It is also working with the City of

on similar plans.

History

Archer was founded on October 16, 2018, by Brett Adcock and Adam Goldstein to develop electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. The company was originally started by Adcock and Goldstein and privately funded. Later,

Marc Lore Marc Eric Lore (pronounced LorEE, born May 16, 1971) is an American entrepreneur, businessman, investor, and NBA owner. In December 2021, CNBC reported that Lore is now the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of the Wonder Group. From 2016 to 2021, he was ...

, a

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

executive, also supported its launch. Initially, Archer worked on developing aircraft with the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

; Adcock and Goldstein are both alumni. Archer now operates a research lab on the

's campus in

Gainesville, Florida Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, Alachua County, Florida, and the largest city in North Central Florida, with a population of 141,085 in 2020. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida, Gaine ...

, which was funded by Adcock and Goldstein. In August 2022,

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

paid Archer a $10 million deposit for 100 electric flying taxis. On November 10, 2022, Archer and United Airlines announced plans for the first electric air taxi route in the US, with an initial route between

Newark Liberty International Airport Newark Liberty International Airport , originally Newark Metropolitan Airport and later Newark International Airport, is an international airport straddling the boundary between the cities of Newark in Essex County and Elizabeth in Union Count ...

and the Downtown Manhattan Heliport. On November 17, 2022, Archer unveiled details of its production vehicle dubbed "Midnight". The aircraft is a piloted, four-passenger air taxi the company said will enter flight testing by the second quarter of 2023 and service by 2025. It is designed to carry passengers on short trips of around between airports and downtown city centers. In November 2022, Archer unveiled its Midnight production aircraft, an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft that can carry four passengers and a pilot. It is designed to be optimized for back-to-back 20-mile trips, with a payload of over 1,000 pounds. Midnight is the evolution of Archer's previous aircraft, Maker, and is expected to be certified by the FAA in late 2024. Archer announced its Maker prototype had achieved full transition from vertical to horizontal flight on November 29, 2022. This milestone was said to be an important validation step for the

flight control A conventional fixed-wing aircraft flight control system consists of flight control surfaces, the respective cockpit controls, connecting linkages, and the necessary operating mechanisms to control an aircraft's direction in flight. Aircraft e ...

systems and aircraft architecture that is also applicable to its Midnight production aircraft. In January 2023, Archer announced a partnership in which

Stellantis Stellantis N.V. is a multinational automotive manufacturing corporation formed in 2021 on the basis of a 50–50 cross-border merger between the Italian-American conglomerate Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and the French PSA Group. The comp ...

, a multinational automobile manufacturer, would provide up to $150 million in equity capital to support Archer's growth and to collaborate on the development and production of Archer's

aircraft for urban air mobility. The purpose of the partnership solidifies Stellantis as Archer's exclusive contract manufacturer for mass production of its

aircraft. In March 2023, Archer and United Airlines announced plans for an electric air taxi route between

O'Hare International Airport Chicago O'Hare International Airport , sometimes referred to as, Chicago O'Hare, or simply O'Hare, is the main international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Chicago Loop, ...

and Vertiport Chicago on the city's near west side. On June 5, 2024

Archer Aviation Archer Aviation is a publicly traded company headquartered in San Jose, California, which is developing eVTOL aircraft. Its eVTOL aircraft are planned to transport people in and around cities in an air taxi service and are claimed to have a rang ...

received its Part 135 Air Carrier and Operator Certificate from the

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...

(FAA). This certification marks a significant milestone as Archer Aviation moves towards commercializing its eVTOL aircraft for urban air mobility.

References

External links

* {{Finance links , symbol=ACHR , bloomberg=ACHR:US , google=ACHR:NYSE , sec_cik=1824502 , yahoo=ACHR , reuters=ACHR.N

Aircraft and air taxi service

History

References

External links

See also