Archer flight testing gains momentum, on pace to achieve transition flight by year end

On June 28, Archer Aviation Inc. (Santa Clara, Calif., U.S.) announced that based on the recent successes seen in its composite Maker flight testing program, it is confident it will achieve its goal of flying full transition flights with Maker by year end. The company notes that work the team put in during the first half of 2022 to upgrade and test the aircraft’s tilt propeller system (TPS) is proving successful. Archer believes that its progress from first hover flight through full transition will be the fastest pace any electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) company has reached this milestone. 

“What differentiates Archer from other players in our industry is our approach to commercialization as well as our laser focus on achieving that goal,” Adam Goldstein, Archer’s chief executive officer (CEO) and founder, says. “The advancements we are making in our flight test campaign are nothing short of remarkable. I wake up every day inspired by our team.”

In December 2021, Maker successfully completed its first hover test flight. After completion, the engineering team spent the following months focused on advancing the development and testing of the systems needed to progress to full transition as efficiently as possible. Flight testing during the most recent phase has centered around various hover scenarios to analyze the TPS in the air. As testing progresses, Archer says the flight envelope will be expanded with flights at increasing climb and descent rates, and airspeeds. Archer plans to continue to conduct multiple flight tests weekly as the campaign continues into the second half of this year.

“Our recent test flights with Maker have shown impressive results,” Dr. Geoff Bower, chief engineer of Archer, adds. Dr. Bower oversees Maker’s flight test campaign and brings over a decade of experience in the eVTOL aircraft industry during which he has helped design and build five previous generations of full-scale eVTOL aircraft and completed successful flight test campaigns. “The rigorous testing our team has completed over the past several months has helped not only validate our design, but also furthers our mission to certify our production aircraft.”