Midnight has completed transition flight at a speed of 100+ MPH – taking off vertically, accelerating until it transitions from thrust-borne to wing-borne flight, cruising on the wing and then landing again vertically. Here are the key highlights from this milestone.
source.iamge: Archer
At ~6,500 lbs, Midnight is believed to be one of the largest eVTOL aircraft to complete transition, which is critical to being able to carry commercially viable passenger payloads. Archer has now achieved transition with two different full-scale eVTOL aircraft which is well known in the industry as a very difficult milestone few companies have reached.
The aircraft has 12 electric propellers: six tilt-propellers (each with five blades) for forward and VTOL flight, and six fixed propellers for VTOL-only flight (each propeller having two blades). Powered by 6 independent proprietary battery packs, each supporting a pair of Archer’s custom electric engines.
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Midnight’s flight test program will now continue its progress with plans to fly simulated commercial routes to demonstrate the aircraft’s operational readiness, executing high-rate flight operations, testing additional flight maneuvers that will be used in commercial settings along with continuing to expand its speed and endurance flight envelope.
