Company completes first successful hover flight of new electric aircraft

By Dean Murray via SWNS

A company has completed the first successful flight of a new electric aircraft.

Archer Aviation Inc. announced their Maker eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) completed a hover test.

The Maker aircraft is an autonomous two-seater that has been certified for flight testing by the FAA.

Powered by twelve motors, the Maker is expected to be able to travel at 150mph and have a range of 60mph.

The Californian firm explain: “The flight marks the completion of the company’s first full and complete systems test and validation of every hardware and software component working as intended to move the aircraft into the air.

“The flight test was completed at 10.30 am PT on 16 December and also resulted in the successful checkout of the company’s flight control system in flight and the end-to-end close of flight software.”

Now that flight has been achieved, Archer will move forward with an ongoing extensive flight test campaign into 2022 and beyond.

"The past six months have been an incredible journey, from unveiling Maker to watching it take its first flight," said Brett Adcock, Archer co-founder and co-CEO.

"It's been humbling to build a leading eVTOL company and educate the public on clean transportation alternatives. Today is a milestone for both Archer and the future of travel. I'm extremely proud of this exceptional team."

Archer’s new year testing campaign will broaden to include hover envelope expansion, advancing Maker’s design capabilities and reaching higher altitudes.

Following the hover expansion, the team will begin the transition envelope expansion ensuring Maker is able to move from hover to forward flight.

While expanding Maker's test flights, Archer also plans to unveil its piloted, four-seat production-intent aircraft in 2023.