![In May the LA28 organizing committee selected Archer Aviation as the Summer Olympic Games’ official air taxi provider. [Courtesy: Archer Aviation]](https://flyingmag1.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/FLY0825_1.3-Modern-Flying-1-scaled.jpeg?width=2560&height=1412)
The FAA’s Innovate28 blueprint forecasts 2028 as the year electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxis reach operational scale in major U.S. cities, such as Los Angeles. The City of Angels is slated to host the 2028 Olympic Games that summer.
If scale is the goal, there are few events grander than the Olympics.
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“It’s the biggest show you could ever imagine, and it just so happens to be in the best city in America for this type of service,” Adam Goldstein, founder and CEO of Archer Aviation, told FLYING at the Paris Air Show in June. “LA has over 5 million daily trips that go less than 20 miles and take over an hour.”
Archer, the developer of the four-passenger Midnight air taxi, believes it can seize the opportunity. The company in May was tapped by the event’s organizing committee, LA28, as the Games’ official air taxi provider. The plan is to ferry spectators, dignitaries, VIPs, and even athletes between Olympic venues—such as the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and SoFi Stadium in Inglewood—in as little as 10 minutes, using a Team USA-branded Midnight.
“I think the goal is to have lots of different people try it, and I think it’ll serve as a really great statement for American innovation in aviation,” Goldstein said.
The agreement with LA28 represents a major vote of confidence in an as-yet-unproven aircraft.
Archer has obtained FAA Part 135 air carrier, Part 141 flight school, and Part 145 repair station permissions and says it completed 400 uncrewed test flights in 2024. Midnight kicked off piloted flight testing in June, achieving a top speed of 125 mph and altitude of 1,500 feet.
But the path to type certification is long. The FAA has never certified a model like Midnight, which is categorized as powered-lift—the first new category of civil aircraft since helicopters were introduced in the 1940s.
The agency in October produced a special federal aviation regulation (SFAR) that lays out initial pilot training and operational rules for powered-lift designs. But since Archer and its competitors expect the novel aircraft to fly in densely populated cities, proving airworthiness will require “a lot of flight hours across many different aircraft,” Goldstein said.
Archer’s test campaign so far comprises one type-conforming aircraft—soon to be joined by a few more, he said—and some earlier prototypes. To achieve Olympic scale by 2028, though, it will need to ramp up.
New Generation of Aircraft
Archer’s Midnight is one of several powered-lift designs working toward type certification.
The eVTOL lifts off vertically like a helicopter but cruises on rigid wings like a plane, juicing up its four battery packs in about 10-12 minutes using ground-based chargers. It deploys a “12 tilt-6” configuration, with half of its dozen propellers swiveling to aid both hover and cruise flight.
Archer says Midnight is optimized for back-to-back, 20 to 50 sm trips for the price of a high-end Uber. In Los Angeles, for example, it proposes a network of vertiports—electrified takeoff and landing hubs—connecting Los Angeles International Airport (KLAX) and regional airfields in Orange County, Santa Monica, Hollywood Burbank, Long Beach, and Van Nuys. It is working with the Los Angeles Rams to install vertiports at SoFi Stadium ahead of the Olympics.
In April, the firm shared a blueprint for a network linking Newark Liberty International (KEWR), LaGuardia (KLGA), JFK International (KJFK), and other New York-area airports. It has partnerships with United Airlines and Southwest Airlines, with the former placing an order for 200 aircraft valued at up to $1 billion.
Archer’s chief competitor, Delta Air Lines partner Joby Aviation, is also eyeing New York and Los Angeles as launch markets for its S4. Boeing air taxi unit Wisk Aero—which is developing a self-flying air taxi—flew in LA in 2023 and is targeting future operations in Miami and North Texas. Another rival, Beta Technologies, is developing both eVTOL and conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) variants for regional service.
For now, though, these are just promises. Archer and Joby have said they anticipate entry into commercial service as soon as this year, with the former planning to launch with customers in Ethiopia, Indonesia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) before landing in the U.S.“I think you’re seeing increasing interest in starting to get the industry going, and I think the UAE and that broader…Middle East [region] are just interested in contributing to it,” Goldstein said.
But SMG Consulting—which tracks air taxi manufacturers’ progress toward operational scale—recently forecast Archer and Joby’s U.S. launch in 2027 or 2028. Sergio Cecutta, who leads that research, said it will be difficult to accelerate the timeline.
“It just doesn’t work,” Cecutta said. “And if it works, it doesn’t come out the way you want it.”
Passing the Torch
Goldstein said that an on-demand Olympic service is “certainly the goal.” Cecutta, though, was skeptical of that vision.
“It could happen. I can’t say for sure,” he said. “What I would say is, even if it happens, it’s going to be a very low-level service, meaning there’s going to be a few airplanes. It’s not going to be like you can fly anytime, anywhere you want.”
Part of the challenge, Cecutta said, is that air taxis will have limited experience flying in cities before launch. Both the FAA and NASA have conducted testing with Joby to simulate eVTOL operations at busy airports, including LAX and Dallas-Fort Worth International (KDAL). Archer and Joby have also delivered aircraft to the U.S. Air Force for further evaluation. But there is nothing quite like the real thing.
“Take the [Airbus] A320. The tests for certification are in the relevant environment. It’s an airport,” Cecutta said. “With eVTOL, it is highly unlikely that the FAA will allow any tests above a city before the airplane is certified. So, basically, they have never tested their mission until they have [type certification.]”
![Archer plans to ferry spectators, dignitaries, VIPs, and athletes between Olympic venues in Midnight eVTOLs. [Courtesy: Jack Daleo]](https://flyingmag1.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/FLY0825_1.3-Modern-Flying-2.jpeg?width=1024&height=897)
Ultimately, he said, Archer and others’ success will boil down to experience: “The sooner you get into the market, the more you learn.”
There may be post-launch hurdles as well.
Like electric cars, eVTOL aircraft will require charging infrastructure to proliferate. Goldstein said Archer’s announcement with LA28 “acted as a signal” for infrastructure partners to start building. The company will purchase charging systems from Beta, whose network more than doubled in 2024 and comprises nearly 50 sites spanning California to Maine. Beta’s goal is to bring about 150 sites online by year’s end.
A steeper challenge may be airline adoption. Though United has placed an order for Midnight, Cecutta believes Archer—using its Part 135 permissions—will be the one flying it at launch.
“We think that at entry into service, especially an airline, they will not want to put an airplane like [Midnight] on their operating certificate,” Cecutta said. “Not because there’s anything wrong with the airplane. It’s just more from a contractual, pilot point of view.”
Archer and its competitors will also need to train those pilots, which necessitates more production-intent aircraft. The Midnight developer aims to churn out about 650 units annually from its facility in Georgia.
Even after all that work, Archer’s Olympic vision hinges on cooperation from the city of Los Angeles.
LA County Public Works, which operates five area airports, said it has no firm plans with Archer but is working to set up a meeting. Goldstein said there will be “a lot of engagement” with city agencies like the LA Department of Transportation and spoke of Archer’s efforts to engage the local community. He made no mention of a firm agreement beyond that with LA28.
“My concern there is, what is the priority when it comes to the city of LA and the DOT in LA for these kind of airplanes?” Cecutta asked. “If you’re ready to go, but there’s nowhere to go, then what are you going to do?”
The jury is still out on LA. But Archer and its competitors have plenty of support from the federal government.
In addition to air taxi integration, NASA is studying safety, noise, rider quality, and a host of other topics. The FAA in June announced it is harmonizing eVTOL certification standards with regulators in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the U.K. Goldstein called the arrangement a “bat signal” for air taxis—implying that, like Batman, they will soon arrive.
Also in June, President Donald Trump signed an executive order creating an eVTOL Integration Pilot Program (eIPP), similar to the one that helped the FAA integrate small drones. Goldstein said he discussed Archer’s participation in the eIPP with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and acting FAA administrator Chris Rocheleau in Paris.
“It’s important to the administration to do this,” Goldstein said. “It’s important to have innovation in aviation, modernizing a lot of the systems that the whole aviation industry uses, creating jobs in the country…So we fit squarely in the middle of all that.”
That government backing pales in comparison to China’s, whose effort to build a low-altitude economy Cecutta said is “unmatched anywhere else in the world.” But concerns over Chinese dominance could be just what is needed to get the U.S. industry humming.
“I think that it’ll happen, and maybe it happens sooner than people think,” Goldstein said. “Who knows?”
This column first appeared in the August Issue 961 of the FLYING print edition.
