In an aviation career that spans more than three decades, Billy Nolen has piloted Bell UH-1 Huey and OH-58 Kiowa helicopters for the U.S. Army, flown Boeing 727, 757 and 767 airliners for American Airlines, and spent 11 years as a captain on the since-retired MD-80.
That’s only a slice of Nolen’s resume, which opened a new chapter on June 12, 2023, when he became chief safety officer at eVTOL aircraft developer Archer Aviation. But after many years as an administrator, instructor and safety manager, Nolen still has a pilot’s sensibility.
“We’ve come a long way from those early days with a manual throttle and a six-pack of instruments,” he told Vertical. “This [flying eVTOLs] is really state-of-the-art stuff.”
Aviation’s next frontier
Nolen joins Archer after a one-year term as acting administrator of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), where he launched an updated airspace blueprint for “air taxis” that will shape the advanced air mobility (AAM) operations of all domestic eVTOL operations.
That role allowed him to take the controls of six unique eVTOL models in a simulator, including Archer’s — visceral pilot experience that may inform Archer’s safety regime as it works toward launching service in 2025.
“There were a few things I had to unlearn as a helicopter pilot when I went through the [Archer eVTOL] sim,” he said. “Some of the architecture is slightly different … but it’s a stable platform. You’ve got 12 rotors, you’ve got envelope protection. We’ve come so far.”
Data-driven approach to safety
In his new role, Nolen is tasked with developing an operationally-pristine safety management system (SMS) for the Archer Midnight aircraft, and also with building public trust in a space where the logistics of AAM may still seem like science fiction to some travelers.
“We recognize the public will absolutely require that it is safe,” Nolen said. “If that case has not been made, then we’re lost before we even get off the ground. There’s already a very strong safety culture at Archer. My goal is to continue to take that — and [see], are there new levels that we can take that to?”
It’s a process that will leverage massive quantities of data, and — potentially — artificial intelligence and machine learning, to continuously improve flight operations.
Pilot training, vertiport design and collaboration with other eVTOL firms to develop best practices are all key priorities.
“We’re awash in data,” Nolen said. “We recognize the beauty of taking all of that data and understanding what it’s telling us. It’s all about de-risking, making sure our risk modeling is correct, and then forever tap into systems to be on the lookout for any vulnerabilities.”
Archer’s ramp-up to production
Archer hopes to see its Midnight aircraft certified by the FAA by the end of 2024, launching operations at retrofitted heliports and regional airports. The company’s goal is to deploy 6,000 aircraft by 2030, eventually ramping up to manufacture about 2,000 aircraft a year.
Launch customer United Airlines has committed to buying 100 Archer aircraft, with the intent to use them on high-volume “trunk” routes between airports and city centers. Archer’s vision is to provide 10-minute flights between Newark Airport and New York City, with similar offerings in other urban centres.
“We’ve got roughly 5,000 airports across the country, so there’s a lot of real estate,” Nolen said. “But we will be absolutely working across the industry, with cities, etc., to make sure what is the most efficient in terms of how we move Archer guests in an urban environment.”
Archer will cast a wide net when recruiting its initial pilots, Nolen said, though he wouldn’t specify if the company is targeting helicopter, airline or military pilots for its new platform — which takes off vertically like a helicopter and flies forward like a jet.
“This is a novel opportunity for us not only to have folks who are already currently pilots, but people are just getting through university,” he said. “They may be part of a pilot training program … and we want to be as diverse as we can be as well.”
Rigorous pilot training
Though Nolen said he found the Archer aircraft “fairly easy” to fly in a simulator, he noted the company will have rigorous pilot training.
“We’ll put pilots through their paces,” he said. “We want to make sure they know they can be adept at handling any sort of emergency that might arise, the ability to deal with environmental conditions, etc. All of that will be part of our training process.”
In the month leading up to joining Archer, Nolen spoke often — and effusively — on social media about the potential for a revolution in aviation, where eVTOLs might change the way people move. That enthusiasm is tempered with the sombre expertise of a long-time aviator who has made safety the focus of his career.
“Safety is always a journey,” he said. “And vigilance never takes a day off. Those are the things I will say over and over again, ad nauseam, during my time here.”
