Archer Aviation has completed several days of piloted flights with its all-electric Midnight eVTOL aircraft over and around California’s San Francisco Bay Area, concluding the Northern California leg of its ‘No Roads’ tour. Operating from Oakland International Airport, the campaign covered more than 200 miles across seven cities in three days, with Midnight reaching a reported 131 mph.
The flights followed earlier stops at Hollister, San Martin, San Jose, Mountain View and Hayward. Archer designed the campaign to demonstrate Midnight’s operation in increasingly complex urban airspace around San Francisco International, Oakland International and San José International airports, while building experience integrating the aircraft with conventional commercial traffic.
A flight from Oakland to San Francisco’s Marina District took approximately 10 minutes, compared with more than an hour by car in traffic. The demonstrations were conducted in coordination with the FAA and state and local partners.
Midnight is now scheduled to continue to Los Angeles for further demonstrations as Archer prepares for participation in the US government’s eVTOL Integration Pilot Program. The flights represent operational preparation and do not constitute a commercial passenger-service launch, certification approval or revised certification timetable.