New Archer Midnight eVTOL Air Taxi Promises Quick Trips to the Airport
An Anonymous Coward writes:
Traffic snarls in some cities can make the trip to or from the airport longer than your flight, but Archer Aviation aims to change that by adding an additional flight. The company's newly revealed Midnight sky taxi is 100 percent electric and capable of ferrying up to four passengers and a minimal amount of baggage from urban centers to airports, and you could book a flight as soon as 2025.
[...] The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) weight and carry-on allowances for passengers are low, just 200 pounds for men and 179 pounds for women. So, there's not much wiggle room in flights with all four passenger seats filled.
[...] Archer says Midnight has been designed to conduct back-to-back 20-mile flights with a 10-minute recharge in between. It has a maximum range of 50 miles and a top speed of 150 miles per hour.
The company's full-scale eVTOL will have a cruising altitude of about 2,000 feet, and it claims noise levels on the ground will be just 45 dBA, which is much quieter than current helicopters. Archer also says that the electric motors in Midnight are safer and easier to maintain than turbine or piston engines used in current airplanes and helicopters.
[...] It hopes to launch its first commercial services in 2025. United Airlines has already made a $10 million down payment on 100 Midnight aircraft, which could help it run its promised Manhattan sky taxi service.
[Ed. ] It will be interesting to see whether their costs and supply/demand work out that this services more than a very small number of wealthy clients.
Slick 90-second promotional video
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