Archer Begins Construction of its eVTOL Manufacturing Plant

Archer Aviation, a California-based electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOL) aircraft manufacturer, has closed a local incentive transaction and begun construction of its first-of-a-kind, high-volume manufacturing facility in Covington, Georgia.

The 350,000ft2 square-foot facility is located adjacent to the Covington Municipal Airport and will be capable of producing up to 650 aircraft per year. It will be the first high-volume manufacturing facility in the eVTOL industry, says Archer. The facility can be expanded by an additional 800,000ft square feet2 to support long-term production targets of up to 2,300 aircraft per year. The achievement will be marked with a ceremonial event in April.

Archer's manufacturing facility is part of a joint venture with Stellantis, a leading automaker and owner of brands such as Jeep, Ram, and Maserati. In January, the two companies announced an expanded relationship under which they would join forces to manufacture Archer's production aircraft, Midnight, as reported by MBN. The partnership leverages each company's respective strengths and competencies to bring the aircraft to market. Stellantis brings advanced manufacturing technology and expertise, experienced personnel and capital to the partnership, while Archer brings its world-class eVTOL team of eVTOL, and electric powertrain and certification experts.

“We are thrilled to be taking this next important step as we work closely with Stellantis to ramp up our high-volume manufacturing capabilities at this new facility in Covington. The key to unlocking the promise of what the eVTOL aircraft industry can bring is scale, and we are thrilled by the support the State of Georgia and Newton County are providing to this first-of-its-kind facility in such an exciting new industry,” says Adam Goldstein, Founder and CEO, Archer Aviation.

The eVTOL aircraft will carry four passengers plus a pilot thanks to its expected payload of over 1,000lb pounds. With a range of 100 miles, Midnight is optimized for back-to-back short distance trips of about 20 miles, with a charging time of approximately 10 minutes in-between.

Archer Nears Completion of its First Production Aircraft

Archer is getting closer to completing the final assembly of its first production Midnight aircraft, as it has already mated all major aerostructures, including the wing, tail and fuselage together, and installed a significant portion of the wiring, electronics and other systems, says the company.

The first Midnight built is set to start initial flight testing by mid-2023. Archer intends to manufacture at least six conforming Midnight aircraft, which will be flown with a pilot, and is targeting the completion of its initial conforming aircraft in 4Q23. These aircraft are set to be built at Archer's San Jose, California, manufacturing facility and integrated test lab.

“A lot goes on behind the scenes to advance the development of our aircraft as efficiently as we have. I could not be more excited to share the news of Archer’s progress on Midnight. This latest milestone is further validation of our strategic approach of using known building blocks to enable realistic innovation significantly de-risking our path to certification and mass manufacturing. The team and I are looking forward to moving this aircraft into flight testing soon and continuing on our path to flying our conforming aircraft in early 2024,” says Tom Muniz, COO, Archer Aviation.Aerospace and automotive companies and suppliers around the world continue betting on urban air mobility (UAM). While UAM remains a large challenge, it is also a megatrend, said to MBN Rogerio Botelho, Director of Program Management, Honeywell Aerospace: “While we do not know exactly when it will arrive, we are certain that it will become a reality.”