Archer Aviation achieved an important milestone with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) publishing the proposed Airworthiness Criteria for its Midnight aircraft in the Federal Register paving way for commercial operations. This is a part of FAA’s Type Certification process for special class aircraft. 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. 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 said: “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 and, with its expected payload of over 1,000 pounds, can carry four passengers plus a pilot. 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.