FAA Clears Archer Aviation for First Flight

The FAA has inspected Archer Aviation’s prototype electric air taxi program, authorizing a special airworthiness certificate, clearing the way for its first hover test flight.

Thom Patterson

Thursday, December 02, 2021 at 01:00 PM ET

Verified

Archer Aviation’s Maker eVTOL aircraft sits at the test facility in California. [Courtesy: Archer Aviation]

Key Takeaways:

Archer Aviation's Maker eVTOL prototype received a special airworthiness certificate from the FAA after a formal inspection.
This certification officially clears the path for Archer to begin its initial flight testing program, including its first hover test flight.
Archer is conducting final preparations for the hover flight, which it plans to execute by the end of the year, aiming for the air taxi to enter service in 2024.

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FAA representatives have inspected Archer Aviation’s (NYSE:ACHR) prototype air taxi program, the eVTOL maker said Thursday, clearing the way for its first hover test flight.

Archer said its electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, dubbed Maker, received a special airworthiness certificate after a formal inspection by the FAA at the company’s flight test facility in California. More commonly known as an experimental certificate—it officially authorizes Archer to begin flight testing.