Archer Aviation runs FAA final-stage air taxi test flights in Oakland
The San Jose company's electric aircraft seats four passengers plus a pilot and targets 10- to 20-mile urban routes.
San Jose-based Archer Aviation performed test flights of its electric air taxi in Oakland on Thursday as it moves through what the company calls the final stages of testing with the Federal Aviation Administration, NBC Bay Area reported.
Chief Strategy Officer Eric Lentell said the aircraft is under development and that Archer is working with the FAA to bring it to market. The company wants short urban hops that take about 10 minutes in the air instead of 60 to 90 minutes in a car on 10- to 20-mile routes.
An air taxi seats four people plus a pilot. Lentell said the big change is distributed electric propulsion, which lets designers rethink the aircraft compared with a typical combustion engine.
Archer has focused on both conventional and vertical takeoffs and landings, and said pricing is meant to compete with premium ride-hailing services such as Uber Black or Uber Premiere.
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