Archer Showcases Piloted Midnight Flight

Archer announced it has begun the next phase of Midnight’s flight test programme showcasing piloted flight. This phase builds on years of safe, autonomous flight testing across its various aircraft platforms, which validated its proprietary 12 tilt-6 VTOL configuration. Midnight cruised at speeds up to 125 mph and reached a maximum altitude of over 1,500 feet above ground level during the flight.

The flight featured a conventional take-off and landing demonstrating the robustness of Midnight’s landing gear that is capable of performing both vertical and conventional take-off and landing operations. Being able to conduct both vertical and conventional take-off and landing as part of normal operations of the aircraft as CTOL provides operational flexibility and enhanced safety.

During this phase of Midnight’s flight test programme, Archer’s test pilots will continue to test key elements of the aircraft, such as flight control responsiveness, stability and aerodynamic and control model validation in addition to gathering data to support its certification and commercialisation efforts in both the US and UAE.