Pilots Could Glimpse Archer's eVTOL Air Taxi at California Airports
Electric vertical takeoff and landing air taxi manufacturer Archer Aviation said Thursday it will take its Midnight prototype out for a series of city-to-city demonstration flights beginning in Northern California.
Archer said Midnight completed about 70 test flights in August. But the manufacturer's upcoming "No Roads" tour will take those activities out of the sandbox and into the public eye.
Earlier air taxi tours by competitors Joby Aviation and Beta Technologies saw those companies' electric aircraft operate alongside pilots of conventional aircraft at major airports such as New York's John F. Kennedy International (KJFK) and Florida's Orlando International (KMCO).
Archer framed its tour as a step toward "operational readiness" for its planned service at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games as well as the FAA's eVTOL Integration Pilot Program (eIPP), which will see precertified aircraft-including Midnight-fly into airports nationwide. Manufacturers and operators that have launched eIPP operations are sharing data with the FAA in order to guide the regulator's development of future operational rules for the novel aircraft.
First, though, Archer plans to fly Midnight between Northern California cities. The company said it will focus on routes that take one hour or more to drive but could be flown in just 10-20 minutes. The tour's stated goal is to "showcase the advantages electric air taxis will bring: low noise, zero operating emissions, and the ability to skip over traffic."
Archer founder and CEO Adam Goldstein called it the "Waymo moment for air taxis," a chance to introduce the technology to more communities-and pilots.
"This is the beginning of that story and our biggest step yet toward making air taxis an everyday reality in cities across America," Goldstein said in a statement.
Midnight, for which Archer is targeting certification before the 2028 Olympic Games, is designed to maintain the runway independence of rotorcraft while cruising at up to 150 mph on fixed wings and producing less noise and emissions. Its tilting rotors support both vertical and forward flight. The model is designed for a pilot to fly up to four passengers and charge in about 10 minutes.
Where Pilots Could Spot Midnight
Air taxi companies and their partners are developing off-airport vertiports, which are similar to heliports but with electric chargers and other infrastructure to accommodate eVTOLs.
However, the U.S. does not yet have an operational vertiport, meaning Midnight will almost certainly fly into airports during the upcoming tour.
If recent demonstrations are any indication, it will use runways for takeoff and landing. Archer has not publicly shown Midnight's transition from vertical to forward flight with a pilot on board. But the company in August completed a piloted, round-trip California journey between Salinas Municipal Airport (KSNS) and Monterey Regional Airport (KMRY). Those flights took off conventionally, with each leg taking about nine minutes.
Archer did not specify in its announcement whether No Roads will include VTOL operations. A spokesperson told FLYING that details about specific flights will be shared over the course of the campaign.
The company said the tour's first stop will be Hollister, California, where Wisk Aero-its autonomous air taxi subsidiary recently acquired from Boeing- broke ground on a vertiport at Hollister Municipal (KCVH). Wisk intends for the site to be a "dedicated testbed" for both piloted and unpiloted eVTOL operations, and Archer could tap into it in the future.
"Shortly after" that, Archer said, it will fly Midnight to Monterey, San Jose, Oakland, and San Francisco, all locations that are preparing for eVTOLs. Monterey Regional has hosted flights by multiple air taxi manufacturers. Archer plans for San Francisco to be the heart of its Bay Area network and is working with a real estate firm to build infrastructure in San Jose and Oakland.
Since that infrastructure is not yet online, look for Midnight to visit San Francisco International (KSFO), San Jose International (KSJC), and Oakland San Francisco Bay (KOAK) airports.
San Martin, another planned stop on the tour, is not part of Archer's San Francisco or Los Angeles networks. But the town has a nontowered public airport (E16) that could serve as a stopover for the tour and a future operational base.
Archer said these initial flights will "pave the way" for Midnight to be introduced in the Los Angeles area, as well as in Texas and Florida. The company did not specify which airports it will use in those locations, but it has big plans for all three.
Where Archer Could Fly Next
Goldstein in August said Archer's Salianas-Monterey demonstration would serve as a "template" for its eIPP activities in Florida, Texas, and New York, which it expects to begin this year. That implies they too will operate using airport runways. However, Archer said in March that its latest test aircraft at the time was "on track" for piloted VTOL operations during the eIPP.
Throughout the tour, the company plans to install electric chargers from Beta Technologies, its partner in a recently established consortium that aims to equip up to 250 sites for electric air taxi operations by 2028. It said the chargers will support the eIPP as well as its future plans.
Los Angeles is shaping up to be Archer's most critical network, and it will likely be a focus for the company as it prepares for Olympic service.
The company is the Games' official air taxi provider and plans to ferry spectators and athletes on-demand between venues using local airport infrastructure . Midnight would also use off-airport vertiports positioned near entertainment hubs, such as downtown's L.A. Live district or Inglewood's SoFi Stadium.
Other planned sites in Archer's network-which could host Midnight flights before or during the Olympics-include Los Angeles International Airport (KLAX), Orange County (KSNA), Santa Monica (KSMO), Hollywood Burbank (KBUR), Long Beach (KLGB), and Van Nuys (KVNY). Last year, the manufacturer acquired Hawthorne Airport to serve as the LA network's operational hub and a testing ground for its technologies.
Expect the company to target activities at these sites in the near future as it seeks to prepare for an on-demand Olympic service.
"We're especially focused on winning Los Angeles, because if we can prove electric air taxis work in one of the world's most congested, complex, and highly regulated cities, I believe we can subsequently scale the product across the U.S. and the world," Goldstein said on Archer's second-quarter 2026 earnings call in August.
