Archer signs deal with Garmin to supply key avionic systems for Archer’s production aircraft - Midnight

      

Archer Aviation Inc and Garmin a leading provider of aviation technologies and solutions have entered into an agreement for Garmin to supply the G3000® integrated flight deck for Midnight.

This relationship represents yet another foundational supplier for Archer.

Sourcing avionic systems from Garmin further advances Archer’s strategy of establishing strategic relationships for the supply of components that are already being used on certified aircraft today, reducing Archer’s certification risk, as well as its development timelines and costs.

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.

Archer Aviation picks site next to Covington Municipal Airport, Georgia for its manufacturing facility

Archer Aviation, a leader in electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, announced this week, plans to locate its manufacturing facility in Covington, Georgia at a site adjacent to the Covington Municipal Airport.

Archer plans to initially build out a 350,000-square-foot facility on a 96-acre site capable of producing up to 650 aircraft per year. The planned eVTOL aircraft manufacturing facility is expected to create over 1,000 jobs over the long term. Construction is expected to be completed in the first half of 2024 with initial production expected to begin in the second half of 2024. The facility will be capable of being expanded by an additional 550,000 square feet, which is estimated to support production of up to 2,300 aircraft per year.

The selection of the site for its manufacturing facility represents a key next step as Archer works towards its goal of being first in the industry to bring up a high-capacity eVTOL production facility.

Archer plans to initially build out a 350,000 square-foot facility, capable of producing up to 650 aircraft per year.

Construction is expected to be completed in the first half of 2024, with initial production expected to begin later that year.

The facility will be capable of being expanded by an additional 550,000 square feet, which is estimated to support production of up to 2,300 aircraft per year.

Archer intends to invest $118M over the next 10 years and will receive an incentive package totaling 33% of its capital investment commitment, which includes land conveyance, tax incentives and Georgia REBA grant.

Archer has entered into an LOI with Synovus Bank, the largest bank headquartered in Georgia, with the intent of obtaining financing to support the project.

In selecting the location for its first manufacturing facility, Archer completed a comprehensive survey of potential sites across the United States. Key considerations included the availability of talent in the local labor market, utility availability, ability to conduct seamless flight test operations, construction costs, and logistics. Archer will receive an incentive package, which includes land conveyance, tax incentives and Georgia REBA grant. As Archer looks to build its local community-focused relationships in Georgia, it anticipates that financing for the project will be provided by Synovus, the largest bank headquartered in the state.

Archer successfully completes second phase of its Maker aircraft flight testing

Archer Aviation announced that it has successfully completed all of its “critical azimuth” flight tests, marking the completion of the second of three key phases of flight testing. The purpose of these tests are to validate the crosswind capabilities of Archer’s eVTOL aircraft configuration and flight control systems. The company has now successfully flown Maker at increasing speeds of up to 15 knots, in various directions and attitudes.

Maker completed its first hover test flight in December of last year. Following extensive ground testing, and the addition of Archer’s new tilt propeller system, the aircraft returned to flight testing earlier this year and has been flying almost daily of late, allowing the Archer Flight Test Team to evaluate incremental speed increases and complex manoeuvres while in hover. The culmination of these tests also demonstrated the robustness of the aircraft’s takeoff and landing capabilities.

Archer and FACC enter agreement for supply of fuselage and wing elements......

Archer Aviation and FACC, a global leader in the development and manufacturing of aircraft components and systems, today announced they have entered into an agreement for FACC to fabricate and supply key fuselage and wing elements of Archer’s production eVTOL aircraft that is currently under development. 

The high-tech expertise of aerospace specialist FACC in the field of lightweight construction, as well as its many years of experience in the production of high-quality aerostructures, were decisive factors in Archer choosing to work with FACC and will help ensure that Archer’s production aircraft can achieve its target range and payload capabilities.

“Archer believes that working with established leaders in the supply of aerospace components will help drive our long-term success and our choice to work with FACC certainly reflects that,” said Adam Goldstein, CEO of Archer. “FACC’s proven track record in fabricating advanced composite structures for the aerospace industry, coupled with their focus on innovation and safety, makes them the perfect supplier for some of the most significant elements of our aircraft structure.”

Archer flight testing gains momentum.......

Archer Aviation announced that based on the recent successes seen in its Maker flight testing program, it is confident it will achieve its goal of flying full transition flights with Maker by year-end. The work the team put in during the first half of this year to upgrade and test the aircraft’s Tilt Propeller System (TPS) is proving successful. Archer believes that its progress from first hover flight through full transition will be the fastest pace any eVTOL company has reached this milestone. Archer’s industry-leading talent and its focus on using key enabling technologies that are in the market today have unlocked this historic progress.

In December of 2021 Maker successfully completed its first hover test flight. After completing that initial flight test, the engineering team spent the following months focused on advancing the development and testing of the systems needed to progress to full transition as efficiently as possible. Flight testing during the most recent phase has centred around various hover scenarios to analyze the TPS in the air. As testing progresses, the flight envelope will be expanded with flights at increasing climb and descent rates, and airspeeds. Archer plans to continue to conduct multiple flight tests weekly as the campaign continues into the second half of this year.

“What differentiates Archer from other players in our industry is our approach to commercialization as well as our laser focus on achieving that goal. The advancements we are making in our flight test campaign are nothing short of remarkable. I wake up every day inspired by our team,” said Adam Goldstein, Archer’s Chief Executive Officer and founder.

Archer and United Airlines form joint eVTOL advisory committee

Archer Aviation and United Airlines have formed a joint eVTOL advisory committee focused on advising on maintenance and operational concepts to recommend to Archer for its all-electric aircraft aimed at driving towards best-in-class operational standards in the emerging eVTOL industry.

The Committee is chaired by Archer’s Vice President of Engineering, Dave Dennison and United’s Mauricio Angel, United’s Managing Director, United Express TechOps Strategy and Operations. The following members of Archer and United round out the initial makeup of the committee:

Jason Onorati, United's Director of Maintenance Programs

Robert Bernard, United’s Sr. Manager Maintenance Programs

Brian Johnson, United’s Director of Materials

Monal Merchant, United’s Sr. Manager UAX Engines and Engineering

Edward Espiritu, United’s Sr. Manager United Airlines Ventures

Adam Goldstein, Archer’s CEO

Tom Muniz, Archer’s COO

Armando Chieffi, Archer’s Maintainability Lead

Adam Goldstein takes on role of CEO at Archer Aviation

Archer Aviation has confirmed Adam Goldstein has been named sole CEO, as the company prepares for its next phase of growth in the fast-developing urban air mobility market.

Brett Adcock, Archer’s co-founder and former co-CEO, will remain on the Company’s Board of Directors. The Company took this step, which it believes will help simplify its operating structure, to drive its flight testing and certification program on its path to commercialization. As one of the most well-capitalized eVTOL companies with a team of world-class engineering and design talent, Archer is strategically positioned to bring urban air mobility to market.

"I want to thank the Board for giving me the leadership opportunity to capitalize on our core strategic advantages that will make urban air mobility an everyday reality here in the U.S,” said Adam Goldstein. “Over the last four years at Archer, the team has worked tirelessly to become a leader in the eVTOL industry. I also want to thank Brett for his partnership and many contributions to Archer along the way.”

“Co-founding and leading Archer was one of the greatest experiences of my life, and I am so proud of the incredible Archer team and their many accomplishments. I am fully committed to the success of Archer,” said Brett Adcock.

“In the past year, Archer has achieved its stated milestones and continued to build out its leading engineering, design and certification teams putting the company in a strategic position for winning,” said Oscar Munoz, a member of Archer’s Board of Directors and Former Chairman and CEO of United Airlines. “Under Adam’s leadership, this management structure will continue to drive the success of the Company.”

Want me in your inbox? Follow here for email updates Air101 here.

Archer Aviation appoints Mark Mesler as new Chief Financial Officer.

Archer Aviation Inc. has confirmed that Mark Mesler has been appointed as the Company’s Chief Financial Officer.

With over two decades of experience in the hardware, sustainability and aerospace sectors, Mark will focus on ensuring Archer’s finance infrastructure robustly supports the company’s progress towards its goal of launching manufacturing operations in 2023 and achieving FAA Type Certification in 2024

After 11.5 years at Bloom Energy and 25 years in corporate finance, Mark brings a unique understanding of how to build and maintain finance organizations in innovative sustainability companies with high-growth trajectories

As Archer matures its financial and investor relations functions following its debut on the NYSE in 2021, Mark will bring his experience gained through helming finance organizations at multiple companies through transition from private to public entities to lead and fully build out Archer’s finance team

Following the company’s NYSE public debut in 2021, Mark will lead all aspects of Archer’s financial operations, including investor relations, financial planning and analysis, treasury, accounting and operations finance. His immediate focus will be on ensuring the company’s product development and manufacturing roadmaps are supported by robust financial planning and cash management strategies. He will also provide critical focus to strengthen Archer’s investor and research analyst relationships and scale its industry-leading finance team.

Having spent over 11 years with Bloom Energy, Mark helped lead the company’s IPO on the New York Stock Exchange in July 2018. During his tenure at Bloom, he was responsible for closing all corporate equity and debt financings prior to the company’s IPO, in addition to scaling the finance team and supporting infrastructure as the company transitioned into the public markets. Most recently, Mark held the CFO role at Volansi, where he provided strategic and financial leadership for the autonomous drone technology and logistics company. Additionally, Mark previously held the position of Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Operations at Aquest Systems and Director of Finance at KLA-Tencor.

“I have spent a large part of my career advancing the application of clean energy, so joining Archer, with its clear vision of enabling sustainable aerial mobility, is a natural fit for me. Having recently developed the finance infrastructure in a business that is transforming the logistics sector with VTOL drone technology, I am now thrilled to be transitioning into the consumer eVTOL aircraft market to scale the finance function as the company enters its next phase of growth and development,” said Mark Mesler, Archer CFO. “The potential for eVTOL to change the way people live and travel is on the cusp of becoming reality, and I look forward to the challenge of stewarding the company’s financial resources to deliver on that vision.”

Archer Takes to the Skies with First Hover Flight of Maker Aircraft

Six months after unveiling its Maker eVTOL aircraft, Archer has achieved both FAA airworthiness certification and its first successful hover flight

The successful hover flight saw Maker accelerating off the ground and hovering in place before returning to the ground safely

Maker aircraft is an autonomous two-seater eVTOL aircraft that has been certified for flight testing by the FAA

In the coming months, Archer’s flight test campaign will broaden to include hover envelope expansion, followed by transition envelope expansion

 

Archer Aviation Inc. announced that Maker, Archer’s eVTOL demonstrator aircraft, completed its first successful hover flight. The flight marks the completion of the company’s first full and complete systems test and validation of every hardware and software component working as intended to move the aircraft into the air. The flight test was completed at 10:30 am PT on 16 December and also resulted in the successful checkout of the company’s flight control system in flight and the end-to-end close of flight software. Now that flight has been achieved, Archer will move forward with an ongoing extensive flight test campaign into 2022 and beyond.

In November, Archer’s dedicated flight test team, consisting of experts in flight test, battery, propulsion, flight controls, software and avionics, moved from the company’s headquarters in Palo Alto to a new flight test facility to prepare for this important milestone. Over the past two months, the team has been laser-focused on Maker’s integration and ground testing in order to prepare Maker for a successful first hover flight, as well as ensuring it meets the FAA's standards for airworthiness certification. After being fully integrated, Maker moved into its ground testing phase, which included verification of the control and propulsion systems, along with driving the motors at full power, and then putting those motors through stress testing to ensure all systems were operational and ready to withstand flight testing. After completing an untethered test, during which the Archer team verified that the entire propulsion and flight control system was functioning correctly, Archer’s flight test team approved the aircraft for its first flight.

The moment was particularly significant in aviation history as this week marks the 118th anniversary of the Wright Brothers’ first flight at Kitty Hawk, NC in 1903 - the moment where humanity officially took to the skies for the very first time. Eric Wright, a descendant of Orville and Wilbur, and Archer’s own head of certification, placed a historic piece of the Wright Flyer in Maker for its inaugural flight to mark the full circle moment.