Meet Archer – the company revolutionising air travel
When we imagine a futuristic world, we often see flying cars and hovercrafts. Well, it turns out the future is upon us, and companies like Archer are leading the way. Founded in 2018 by Brett Adcock and Adam Goldstein out of pocket, Archer is an American company based in Palo Alto, California that designs electric vertical takeoff and landing aircrafts.
Their vision is bold, but simple: to change the world. They have said themselves that their aim is to reimagine how we live, move and journey and to make the world that is safer, cleaner and more easily explored. They have titled themselves as explorers, and we at ellectric definitely think they fit the bill.
Archer’s first aircraft Maker
We aren’t the only ones, as United Airlines has already chosen to partner with Archer, ordering two hundred Archer planes. In 2021, Archer revealed their first aircraft, Maker, an eVTOL plane with a range of 60 miles and travel speeds up to 150 mph. It has 12 electric propellers, six tilt-props for forward and VTOL flight and six stationary propellers for VTOL-only flight. The plane received an airworthiness certificate from the FAA in December 2021 and shortly thereafter completed its first flight.
"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.” – Brett Adcock, o-founder and co-CEO in 2021
Aerial ridesharing
Archer is currently designing an aircraft with the FAA that will seat four passengers and will be used in Archer’s ridesharing service – a particularly innovative branch of the brand. The service, titled Urban Air Mobility, is set to begin in Miami, Florida and Los Angeles, California in 2024, with the help of both cities’ in providing support and infrastructure for the project to come to fruition. With this service, the Star Wars-like future of hopping into a hovercraft taxi to get somewhere will become a reality – and all electric no less!
This April, Archer also announced plans to work with Hexcel, a leading supplier and manufacturer of carbon fibre and other advanced composite materials in order to advance their production capabilities. Suffice to say that the company takes their pledge to change the future of aviation and mobility seriously in all aspects: technology, usability, design and sustainability.
The future of mobility
The future of mobility isn’t only about innovative technologies and design, however – but also about innovative business practices. A company is truly forward-facing when it can integrate these two very important aspects of business together, and apply forward-thinking to their internal functioning. At Archer, this is most definitely the case, as the team is made up of people from all types of backgrounds, but with one thing in common: a vision for the future. The team includes people that previously worked at Tesla, Apple, GE Aviation, but also places like Forkable or even recent university graduates.
Pictures: Archer