Archer Aviation has received Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) part 141 flight school certification, and plans to launch a pilot training academy to support commercial air taxi operations for its Midnight eVTOL aircraft. The company is in the process of completing its application for a part 142 training center. Part 142 centers utilize flight simulation training devices for training, testing, and checking of a part 135 operator.
In December, Archer announced that it had completed development of a mixed reality flight training device (MR FTD) for Midnight in cooperation with Niceville, Florida-based Vertex Solutions as part of a $1 million contract with the U.S. Air Force’s AFWERX program. (Archer’s overall AFWERX Agility Prime contract with the Air Force could be worth up to $142 million. Archer delivered an aircraft to the Air Force last year for evaluation.)
Archer and Vertex plan to pursue civil FAA FTD Level 7 certification equivalency for the device. The MR FTD integrates Midnight’s hardware and flight model, Ryan Aerospace’s simulator platform, Varjo’s XR-4 headsets, and Aechelon Technology’s Nucleus image generator.
Archer previously announced its intent to establish eVTOL air taxi operations in Abu Dhabi with area partners including Etihad Aviation Training. CEO Captain Paolo La Cava said his company looked forward to “working with Archer to train pilots and other aviation professionals for their electric air taxis.” Etihad said the Midnight FTD could be installed in its training facility Abu Dhabi later this year.
In 2024, the FAA awarded Archer a part 135 air carrier and operator and part 145 repair station certificates. The company also completed a 400,000 square-foot production facility in Georgia and announced launch of a defense division to develop next-generation, hybrid propulsion VTOL aircraft in partnership with Anduril Industries, a company that specializes in autonomous systems and AI-powered solutions for military customers.
On Feb. 11, Archer said that it had raised an additional $300 million in investment bringing its total capitalization to nearly $2 billion and its current liquidity to more than $1 billion. The $300 million adds to the $430 million Archer raised in December from a variety of sources including automaker Stellantis, United Airlines, Wellington Management, and Abu Dhabi’s 2PointZero.
According to documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Archer has a total accumulated deficit of $1.487 billion through the first nine months of 2024 and posted operating loss of for the period of $338.7 million. Archer has yet to file its 2024 annual report, but it is forecasting a quarterly operating loss for Q4 2024 of between $120-$140 million. Cash on hand at the end of Q3 2024 was $418.5 million. Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period were $502 million. Archer will disclose its 2024 financial results on February 27.
The Archer stock price has more than doubled over the last 12 months, but it is still 36 percent lower than its all-time high price in 2021.
