Archer plans to send its first aircraft to Abu Dhabi later this year.
Archer announced plans to launch into piloted flight tests with its first full-scale Midnight eVTOL air taxi as soon as next week.
Rolled out late last year, the first piloted Midnight has undergone extensive ground tests ahead of its first flight “in the coming days,” Archer founder and CEO Adam Goldstein announced on an earnings call alongside the startup’s Q1 financial results.
The first piloted Midnight has been fitted with a specialized flight test instrumentation system that includes sensors and software designed to measure over 40,000 data parameters, ranging from structural integrity to vibration data, temperature, power systems and many more metrics, according to Archer’s CTO Tom Muniz.
As a pre-production model, the aircraft will not be flown for credit toward FAA type certification. However, the company said that multiple additional aircraft are being built at its facilities in San Jose, California, and Covington, Georgia. A company spokesperson said those aircraft will be “partially conforming” and can be flown for certification credit, expected to commence in the back half of the year.
The launch of flight testing paves the way for delivery of the first Midnight later this year for testing and market survey flights in Abu Dhabi, part of the company’s Launch Edition initiative to jump start pre-revenue flying in international markets ahead of type certification.
Archer’s effort to develop a hybrid VTOL in partnership with Anduril also continues to progress. While declining to delve into specifics, Goldstein said the aircraft will be “dual-use” with potential for both defense and commercial applications, some of which could include cargo or offshore oil and gas, among other possibilities.
Archer finished Q1 with approximately $1 billion in available liquidity after raising over $300 million in an equity round led by Blackrock early this year. Spending in the quarter totaled $144 million, compared to $142 million a year ago. The company realized a net loss of $93 million in Q1, an improvement from its $117 million loss in last year’s Q1.
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