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| The Maker prototype of Archer has moved from powered-lift vertical flight to forward wing-borne flight. [Photo courtesy of Archer Aviation] |
Archer Aviation Inc. [NYSE: ACHR] said its Maker paradigm eVTOL aircraft made its starting time transition from a vertical takeoff, powered-lift style of flying to fully wingborne frontward flight. According to the fellowship, the aircraft made the critical transition less than a year after its first hovering flight.
The Maker is immediately among a pocket-sized issue of full-scale eVTOL test aircraft to make this type of transition and then far, and the result represents a significant step toward the society's goal of FAA certification for its production model, called Midnight, in 2024.
The Maker has 12 electrically powered propellers attached to its forepart, as well as a parent of six booms, or nacelles, mounted to its fixed fly. For takeoff and landing, all 12 props generate vertical lift. The half-dozen motors at the leading edge of the wing rotate forward for traditional cruise flight while the parent, vertically oriented propellers finish spinning and lock their blades inward in an aerodynamic fore-and-aft position.
The most recent test flight was also the first time the Maker flew with its raised propellers locked. According to Archer, the plane reached 91 knots. The transition from vertical to cruise flight is a critical step in "validating the flight physics of Archer's proprietary 12-combination-6 propeller configuration that it uses on Maker and Midnight," according to the company.
Archer stated that it has gleaned valuable information from the Maker's flight-testing program, which it has used to aid in the evolution of Midnight, which the companionship unveiled last month.
"Archer's strategy has always been focused on finding the most efficient path to commercializing eVTOL aircraft since day one," said Adam Goldstein, Archer's founder and CEO. "The information and feel we've gleaned from Maker's rigorous flying testing plan have been invaluable to Midnight's development and certification path, and it also lends further confidence to our belief that Archer will be the first company to certify an eVTOL aircraft inwards the United States amongst the FAA."
