Archer Midnight Completes Piloted City-to-City eVTOL Roundtrip on ‘No Roads’ Tour

Archer Aviation has completed a piloted city-to-city roundtrip flight with its all-electric Midnight aircraft between Salinas and Hollister, California. The flight marked the first stop on Archer’s “No Roads” flight tour and covered more than 40 miles roundtrip.

The Archer Midnight city-to-city eVTOL completed each leg in approximately 12 minutes, reaching speeds of 125 mph and cruising at an altitude of 3,550 feet.

Archer Midnight City-to-City eVTOL Completes California Flight

Midnight flew between Salinas Municipal Airport and Hollister Municipal Airport before completing the return flight.

According to Archer, each leg took roughly 12 minutes. The company said the comparable trip by car can take approximately 40 minutes or more each way.

During the roundtrip mission, Midnight:

• Covered more than 40 miles
• Reached speeds of 125 mph
• Cruised at 3,550 feet
• Completed each leg in approximately 12 minutes

The flight represents the first completed route in Archer’s recently announced “No Roads” flight tour.

No Roads Tour Follows More Than 70 August Test Flights

The city-to-city demonstration follows more than 70 test flights completed by Archer during August.

Those flights included a piloted roundtrip journey between Salinas Municipal Airport and Monterey Regional Airport.

Archer plans to continue the No Roads tour across Northern California during the coming weeks.

Planned destinations include:

• Monterey
• San Martin
• San Jose
• Oakland
• San Francisco

Archer Works with FAA and Local Partners

Archer said it is working with the FAA as well as state and local partners during the series of flights.

The company plans to use the Northern California operations as preparation for future Midnight flights in the Los Angeles area.

The flights are also intended to support preparations for operations under the White House’s eVTOL Integration Pilot Program in:

• Texas
• Florida
• New York

“On Friday, Midnight flew between two California communities in a fraction of the time the trip would take by car. That’s the point of the ‘No Roads’ tour: bring Midnight to cities across America, fly real routes, and build the operational muscle for eIPP operations and LA28 alongside the FAA,” said Adam Goldstein, Founder and CEO of Archer.

“Every route we fly makes the next one easier. By the time the world comes to LA for the Games, people will be ready for it.”

Midnight Targets Urban Air Mobility Operations

Archer is developing Midnight for urban air mobility operations with the goal of replacing ground trips lasting 60 to 90 minutes with shorter all-electric flights.

According to the company, the aircraft is designed to conduct rapid back-to-back flights with zero operating emissions.

The Archer Midnight city-to-city eVTOL flight between Salinas and Hollister marks the first completed stop on the No Roads tour as the company prepares for additional Northern California routes, Los Angeles operations and flights under the eIPP program.

Source: Press release from Archer Aviation