Archer surpasses 400 test flights this year

San Jose, California-based Archer Aviation has completed 402 test flights so far this year, surpassing the 400 test-flight goal it set for 2024 approximately four months ahead of schedule.

The 400-plus flights were conducted throughout the last eight months as the company ramps flight test operations in advance of for-credit flight testing with the FAA.

Adam Goldstein, CEO and founder of Archer said, “When we first set our goal for 400 flights this year it was viewed as aggressive, but here we are in August already knocking it out. I’m proud of the Archer flight test team and the supporting groups that made it happen.”

Each flight produces critical data that Archer’s teams use to evaluate and refine aircraft loads, vibrations, performance and handling qualities.

Most recently, the Archer flight test team has focused on five key testing areas:

●      Transition flights: Continuing to conduct longer-distance and higher-speed transition flights to gather data, extend endurance, and ensure maximum safety.

●      High-rate operations: Increasing per-day flights to simulate the high cadence of Archer’s anticipated commercial operations and test Midnight’s durability.

●      Advancing landing profiles: Completing a series of hover landings in various wind conditions with different rates of descent and flare heights to expand Midnight’s wind envelope and further optimize its landing profile.

●      Enhancing acoustic measurement: Conducting a series of hover operations with various microphone arrays to collect supplemental data for the FAA and to further evaluate and tune Midnight’s noise signature.

●      Optimizing control laws: Regressing through the envelope with a series of optimizations made to the control laws which will extend Midnight’s endurance.

The announcement follows Archer’s planned network in Los Angeles and its recently announced developments with Southwest Airlines and United Airlines. It also follows major milestones, such as certification to begin operating as a commercial airline and the recent delivery of Archer’s first aircraft to the United States Air Force.