Midnight is the evolution of Archer’s demonstrator eVTOL aircraft, Maker, which has validated its proprietary twelve-tilt-six configuration and key enabling technologies.
Midnight is designed to be safe, sustainable, quiet and, with its expected payload of over 1,000 pounds, can carry four passengers plus a pilot.
Midnight is optimized for back-to-back short distance trips of around 20-miles, with a charging time of approximately 10 minutes in-between. Archer is working to certify Midnight with the FAA in late-2024 and will then use it as part of its UAM network, which it plans to launch in 2025.
“From day one Archer’s strategy has always been about finding the most efficient path to commercializing eVTOL aircraft,” said Adam Goldstein, Archer’s Founder and CEO. “We believe our strategy and team's ability to execute on it has allowed us to establish our leadership position in the market, and is why we are confident we will be the first company to certify an eVTOL aircraft in the US with the FAA.”
Archer’s unique approach to designing Midnight focuses on combining high function and high emotion, inspiring passengers to want to experience it, similar to the feeling that was evoked in this country during the Golden Age of aviation in the 1950s. Archer is confident that Midnight will lead the way in this new era of vertical flight. Midnight marries cutting-edge electric propulsion technology with state-of-the-art aircraft systems to deliver the key attributes of our eVTOL aircraft:
- Safety High redundancy and simplified propulsion systems make for a significantly safer aircraft compared to a helicopter. Midnight has no single critical points of failure, meaning that should any single component fail, the aircraft can still safely complete its flight. In addition, the electric motors used in Midnight have significantly less moving parts than those found in a gas turbine or piston engine, allowing it to operate with less maintenance and lower overall risk.
- Low noise Designed to cruise at approximately 2,000 feet, the design of Midnight is such that the noise that reaches the ground is expected to measure around 45 A-weighted decibels (dBA), almost 1,000 times quieter than that of a helicopter. During forward flight, the aircraft’s tilt propellers spin on axes that are aligned with the oncoming air flow, rather than edge-wise to the flow, as is the case with traditional helicopters - further decreasing noise levels. Since Archer’s aircraft is spinning 12 small propellers rather than one large rotor, it can also spin them at significantly lower tip speeds, resulting in much lower noise levels.
- Sustainable Midnight is all electric, resulting in zero operating emissions. Archer is committed to sourcing renewable energy wherever possible to power its aircraft. Archer’s design and engineering teams have worked tirelessly to integrate materials into this aircraft that have their own unique sustainability stories. For example, Midnight’s seats are constructed out of “flax” fiber, a natural plant which requires very little irrigation and is highly absorbent of CO2. In addition, Archer’s design uses fabric made from recycled contents like plastic bottles.
“We continue the push towards commercialization, with the vast majority of our resources focused on completing the development and certification of Midnight, building out our manufacturing and supply chain capabilities and hardening our go-to-market plans.” said Mark Mesler, Archer’s CFO.
In August, Archer completed Midnight’s preliminary design review covering all aspects of the aircraft’s specifications and manufacturing requirements, which enabled it to determine that the design is feasible for Type Certification and commercialization.
Archer has also made rapid progress on Maker’s flight testing program and is on schedule to complete a full transition flight in the coming weeks, just twelve months after its first hover flight. Achieving this milestone will further validate the flight physics of Archer’s proprietary twelve-tilt-six configuration that it uses on both Maker and Midnight, as well as a number of the key enabling technologies, such as the aircraft flight control system. The Maker flight test program has generated invaluable data that Archer has leveraged in the development and certification path of Midnight.
Garmin to supply avionics for Archer Midnight
Archer Aviation Inc. and Garmin, a leading provider of aviation technologies and solutions, announced they have entered into an agreement for Garmin to supply the G3000® integrated flight deck for Midnight.
The Garmin G3000 integrated flight deck offers an ideal solution for the Midnight cockpit. The compact and lightweight system offers both an extensive certification pedigree and the configurability needed for Archer to bring its aircraft to market. The large format displays and intuitive controls will provide pilots with the situational awareness needed to operate Midnight. The extensive reach of Garmin avionics will make the Midnight aircraft familiar to a large swath of pilots.
Part of Archer’s commercialization strategy is to focus its in-house development on only the key enabling technologies that cannot be sourced from the existing aerospace supply base. The Garmin relationship further advances Archer’s approach of establishing strategic relationships for supply of components already being used on certified aircraft today. Archer now has more than 64% of our suppliers for Midnight’s bill-of-materials selected.
“By aligning Archer’s product sourcing needs with the experience and capabilities of well-established leaders in the aviation industry, we can help reduce our certification risk, as well as development timelines and costs,” said Adam Goldstein, Archer’s CEO. “We’re excited to be adding Garmin to our growing base of world-class suppliers as we pave the way towards commercialization.”
“We are proud of this strategic relationship with Archer Aviation to provide the advanced Garmin G3000 integrated flight deck for their new Midnight aircraft,” said Phil Straub, Garmin Executive Vice President and Managing Director, Aviation. “It is an honor to be selected and trusted by Archer and we are confident the G3000 will help them to provide advanced and efficient air taxi services for years to come.”
Garmin maintains an exceptional reputation for delivering high-quality avionic technologies to general aviation, business aviation, rotorcraft, advanced air mobility, government and defense, and commercial air carrier customers. Their extensive experience in the aviation space and demonstrated ability to reliably source flight deck avionic systems was a significant factor in Archer’s decision to enter into this relationship.
Molicel to supply battery for Archer Midnight
Archer Aviation Inc. and E-One Moli Energy Corp. (Molicel), an industry-leading supplier of lithium-ion battery cells,
announced they have entered into a memorandum of understanding for Molicel to manufacture and supply the battery cells for Archer’s production electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, Midnight.
Archer is focused on building an aircraft tailored to the needs of intra-city travel, optimizing its Midnight aircraft to perform back-to-back short distance flights of about 20 miles with approximately 10-minute charging cycles in-between.
Batteries are an important consideration in achieving Midnight’s desired payload, range and charging time. The ability to operate eVTOL aircraft in dense, urban environments requires state-of-the-art, reliable battery cells that can deliver high power, low impedance and fast charging capabilities.
Molicel’s advanced battery technology and fast growing production capacity make them an ideal partner for Archer as it continues on its ramp to commercialization. Last year, Molicel announced plans to establish its first Gigafactory in Taiwan, which is scheduled to ramp up production in 2023.
The facility will have the capacity to produce 1.8 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of battery capacity annually. Molicel's high-performance cells also offer a significant cycle life when utilized in Archer's battery pack and, as a result, reduce the long-term operating cost for its Midnight production aircraft. Partnering with a world-class battery supplier that can reliably manufacture cells at scale, allows Archer to reduce its certification risk, as well as its development timelines and costs.
“Molicel understands that safety and reliability are paramount but that we still must ensure we are living up to our shared values of social responsibility and sustainability,” said Adam Goldstein, Archer’s CEO. “We’re proud to leverage Molicel’s 40+ years of high volume manufacturing experience in the battery industry to deliver on the promise of the electrification of the aviation industry and further Archer’s mission to unlock the skies - freeing everyone to reimagine how they move and spend time.”
With this relationship with Molicel, Archer continues its push towards commercialization. Archer now has more than 64% of its suppliers for its bill-of-materials selected, including many global leaders in the design, development and manufacturing of aircraft components.
“Molicel is devoted to work as battery cells’ key partner for leading players in eVTOL application. By the collaboration with Archer today, it shows a good model that our high performance power cell technology, state-of-the-art commercial production capabilities and expansion plans are key values that we add on to partners. We hope to see the great impact that Midnight will introduce to the marketplace technology wise, safety wise and most importantly, to prove a profitable business model which a new technology can offer to the world while being sustainable and responsible for the environment.” said Casey Shiue, President of Molicel.
Molicel’s 40 years of industry leading experience in the battery industry, as well as its fast growing production capacity, were decisive factors in Archer’s decision to select Molicel to supply batteries for Midnight. Molicel focuses on demanding, high-performance applications of its batteries, with its technology already in use across space, advanced automotive and power tool applications.
About Archer : Archer (NYSE: ACHR) is designing and developing electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft for use in urban air mobility networks. Archer’s mission is to unlock the skies, freeing everyone to reimagine how they move and spend time. Archer's team is based in Santa Clara, CA.
About Garmin : Garmin International, Inc. is a subsidiary of Garmin Ltd. (NYSE: GRMN). Garmin Ltd. is incorporated in Switzerland, and its principal subsidiaries are located in the United States, Taiwan and the United Kingdom. Garmin and G3000 are registered trademarks.
About Molicel: With over 40 years’ rechargeable lithium-ion knowhow and innovative technology research and development, Molicel® is famous for its excellent power density product which presents high discharge and fast charge capability balanced with good energy density.
The company has been recognized as the first choice for world leading makers in applications such as sports car/motorcycle, VTOL, aerospace and heavy-duty tools. Molicel®’s R&D and engineers hold core competences in material research, cell design and advanced manufacturing along with testing capability.
These four cornerstones make this medium size but tech-leading cell maker stands in a very competitive position in the market. Molicel® belongs to the energy business of Taiwan Cement Corporation (TCC). TCC is the first listing company in Taiwan stock market. The group has business units in the field of power plant, renewable energy and BESS.
The Garmin G3000 the first touchscreen-controlled glass flight deck ever designed for light turbine aircraft
Midnight N302AX ( State of California )
See also |
Urban Air Mobility 
Archer Aviation State of California Helicopters Battery Archer Midnight
