Archer Aviation

Last updated
Archer Aviation Inc.
Company type Public
ISIN US03945R1023
Industry Aviation, Advanced Air Mobility
Founded16 October 2018;6 years ago (2018-10-16)
Founders
Headquarters
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Adam Goldstein (CEO), Tom Muniz (COO), Mark Mesler (CFO)
ProductsElectric aircraft
Revenue$0 million (2023)
Increase2.svg -$317.3 million (2023)
Total assets Decrease2.svg $578.3 million (2023)
Total equity Decrease2.svg $493.3 million (2023)
Number of employees
483 (2023)
Website archer.com

Archer Aviation Inc. is a publicly traded company headquartered in San Jose, California, which is developing eVTOL aircraft. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

Its eVTOL aircraft is designed to allow airline operators to transport people in and around cities in an air taxi service and are claimed to have a range of up to 100 miles (160 km) at speeds of up to 150 miles per hour (240 km/h). [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] United Airlines is its first major corporate partner, having ordered two hundred Archer electric aircraft. [9] [10] [11]

Aircraft and air taxi service

Maker, Archer's first demonstrator aircraft, was unveiled on June 10, 2021, at an event in Los Angeles, California. Maker is a two-passenger fully electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft with 12 electric propellers: [12] 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 150 miles per hour (240 km/h) over 60 miles (97 km). The aircraft is powered by six independent battery packs. [10] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] In November 2021, Archer moved Maker from its headquarters to its flight test facility to start initial test flights. [18] Maker also received its airworthiness certificate from the FAA in December 2021. [19] Archer also completed its first flight in December 2021. [20] [21] [22]

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, Florida and Los Angeles, California. [23] [24] [25] Archer is working with Urban Movement Labs and the Los Angeles Department of Transportation to help build the necessary infrastructure and service routes. [5] It is also working with the City of Miami on similar plans. [23]

History

Archer was founded on October 16, 2018, by Brett Adcock and Adam Goldstein to develop electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. [26] [17] The company was originally started by Adcock and Goldstein and privately funded. [27] [17] [28] [29] [30] Later, Marc Lore, a Walmart executive, also supported its launch. [31]

In 2022, Adcock departed from the both the leadership team and the board. [32] [33] Goldstein is currently the sole CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the company. [34] [35]

Initially, Archer worked on developing aircraft with the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering at the University of Florida; Adcock and Goldstein are both alumni. [36] Archer now operates a research lab on the University of Florida's campus in Gainesville, Florida, which was funded by Adcock and Goldstein. [36]

In August 2022, United Airlines paid Archer a $10 million deposit for 100 electric flying taxis. [37] 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 and the Downtown Manhattan Heliport. On November 17, 2022, Archer unveiled details of its production vehicle dubbed "Midnight". [38] 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 20 miles (32 km) between airports and downtown city centers. [39]

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. [40]

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 systems and aircraft architecture that is also applicable to its Midnight production aircraft. [41]

In January 2023, Archer announced a partnership in which Stellantis, 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 eVTOL aircraft for urban air mobility. The purpose of the partnership solidifies Stellantis as Archer's exclusive contract manufacturer for mass production of its eVTOL aircraft. [42]

In March 2023, Archer and United Airlines announced plans for an electric air taxi route between O'Hare International Airport and Vertiport Chicago on the city's near west side. [43]

On June 5, 2024 Archer received its Part 135 Air Carrier and Operator Certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This certification marks a significant milestone as Archer Aviation moves towards commercializing its eVTOL aircraft for urban air mobility. [44]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air taxi</span> Small commercial aircraft which makes short flights on demand

An air taxi is a small commercial aircraft that makes short flights on demand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Personal air vehicle</span> Type of aircraft

A personal air vehicle (PAV) is a proposed class of passenger aircraft providing on-demand air transport.

Urban air mobility (UAM) is the use of small, highly automated aircraft to carry passengers or cargo at lower altitudes in urban and suburban areas which have been developed in response to traffic congestion. It usually refers to existing and emerging technologies such as traditional helicopters, vertical-takeoff-and-landing aircraft (VTOL), electrically propelled vertical-takeoff-and-landing aircraft (eVTOL), and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). These aircraft are characterized by the use of multiple electric-powered rotors or fans for lift and propulsion, along with fly-by-wire systems to control them. Inventors have explored urban air mobility concepts since the early days of powered flight. However, advances in materials, computerized flight controls, batteries and electric motors improved innovation and designs beginning in the late 2010s. Most UAM proponents envision that the aircraft will be owned and operated by professional operators, as with taxis, rather than by private individuals.

Lilium N.V. is a German aerospace company which is the developer of the Lilium Jet, an electrically powered personal air vehicle capable of VTOL flight.

Kitty Hawk Corporation was an American aircraft manufacturer producing electric ultralight aircraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lilium Jet</span> Proposed personal air vehicle

The Lilium Jet is a prototype German electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) electrically powered airplane designed by Lilium GmbH. A seven-seat production version is planned.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joby Aviation</span> American aviation company

Joby Aviation is a United States venture-backed aviation company, developing an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft that it intends to operate as an air taxi service. Joby Aviation is headquartered in Santa Cruz, California, and has offices in San Carlos, California; Marina, California; and Munich, Germany.

Volocopter GmbH is a German aircraft manufacturer based in Bruchsal and founded by Alexander Zosel and Stephan Wolf. The company specializes in the design of electric multirotor helicopters in the form of personal air vehicles, designed for air taxi use. The CEO is Dirk Hoke and chairman Stefan Klocke.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transcend Air Vy 400</span> Type of aircraft

The Transcend Air Vy 400 is a tiltwing convertible aircraft developed by American startup Transcend Air.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vertical Aerospace</span> British aerospace manufacturer (e. 2016)

Vertical Aerospace Ltd. is an aerospace manufacturer based in Bristol, England. It designs and builds zero emission, electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) electrically powered aircraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beta Technologies</span> Vermont electric aircraft manufacturer

Beta Technologies, is a South Burlington, Vermont-based aerospace manufacturer developing electric vertical take off and landing (eVTOL) and electric conventional take-off and landing (eCTOL) aircraft for the cargo, medical passenger, and military aviation industries. The company has also developed a network of chargers which can supply power to their aircraft and other electric vehicles. Training programs for future electric aircraft pilots and maintainers are also provided.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boeing Passenger Air Vehicle</span> Autonomous personal air vehicle prototype

The Boeing Passenger Air Vehicle (PAV) is an American electrical powered autonomous personal air vehicle prototype developed by the Boeing NeXt division of Boeing with the assistance of Aurora Flight Sciences.

eVTOL Type of aircraft

An electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft is a variety of VTOL aircraft that uses electric power to hover, take off, and land vertically. This technology came about owing to major advances in electric propulsion and the emerging need for new aerial vehicles for urban air mobility that can enable greener and quieter flights. Electric and hybrid propulsion systems (EHPS) have also the potential of lowering the operating costs of aircraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wisk Cora</span> Type of aircraft

The Wisk Cora, also known as Generation 4 and Generation 5, is an American autonomous personal air vehicle prototype previously developed by the Kitty Hawk Corporation, and subsequently by Wisk Aero.

Eve Air Mobility develops electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft and urban air mobility infrastructure. EVE is a brand that was idealized by the innovation division of Embraer called EmbraerX.

Wisk Aero is an aerospace manufacturer based in Mountain View, California, United States. The company develops self-flying electric vertical take off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft designed to be operated as air taxis. The company was formed in 2019 as a partnership between Boeing and Google co-founder Larry Page's Kitty Hawk aircraft company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Advanced air mobility</span> Next generation aviation

Advanced air mobility (AAM) are systems that incorporate support for next-generation transport such as such as remotely piloted, autonomous, or vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft. This includes those powered by electric or hybrid-electric propulsion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brett Adcock</span> American technology entrepreneur

Brett Adcock is an American technology entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of Figure AI, an AI startup working on a general-purpose humanoid robot. In 2018, Adcock founded Archer Aviation, five years after he started Vettery. In 2023, he established Cover. As of June 2024, Forbes estimates his net worth to be US$1.4 billion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Volocopter Volocity</span> Proposed personal air vehicle

The VoloCity is an electrically powered aircraft that can fly autonomously and take off and land vertically. It is produced by the German manufacturer Volocopter and is its first series model.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TCab Tech</span>

TCab Technology Co., Ltd. is a company based in Shanghai, China that develops and manufactures electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. The name "TCab" stands for "time taxi." The company produces zero-emission eVTOL aircraft for public use in advanced air mobility (AAM) air ridesharing services.

References

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  39. Archer unveils Midnight production vehicle Aviation Week
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  41. Maker prototype completes first transition flight
  42. "Stellantis to Build Electric Aircraft with Archer and Provide Strategic Funding for Growth". January 4, 2023.
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See also