Successful test of electric VTOL taxi
Imagine arriving at your destination, hopping from the plane into this cool electric VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) taxi. What a cool (and: sustainable) way to be taken to your final destination within 160 kilometers from the airport.
Airport Technology reports that the vision of this cool Midnight eVTOL may become reality in the not-too-distant future. US-based electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft manufacturer Archer Aviation (AA) has flown its Midnight aircraft for the first time. The uncrewed and tethered test flight was the first full-scale – and: successful – test of the air taxi that is capable of flying up to 160 kilometers.
Image by Archer Aviation
Long commutes in minutes
The Midnight eVTOL will be a piloted, four-passenger aircraft that is optimised for regular 35-to-80-mile urban trips. Archer Aviation states that the Midnight aircraft has been engineered for speeds of up to 240 km p/h, turning “long-hour commutes into minutes”. Archer Aviation is planning to begin offering customer services in two years’ time.
The Midnight eVTOL is said to have quick charging capabilities, allowing it to do 32-kilometer trips back-to-back with only 12 minutes of charge time in between.
