Electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft developer Archer Aviation has completed final assembly of its first Midnight aircraft.
The aircraft was shipped from Archer’s Palo Alto facility to its flight test facility in Salinas, California and reassembled ahead of ground tests and in turn a planned first flight in summer 2023 and piloted flights in early 2024.
“Today we announced our exciting progress that the final assembly of our first Midnight aircraft is now complete and it is preparing for its flight test program,” said Adam Goldstein, Archer’s founder and chief executive.
The tests are to contribute to further validation of the aircraft as part of official certification procedures, with Federal Aviation Administration witnesses to be present at the tests.
“This aircraft will accelerate and reduce risk on our certification program paving the way for our team to focus on building and conducting piloted operations with conforming aircraft to support the goal of entering into service in 2025," Goldstein said.