12 propellers (Distributed Electric Propulsion): 6 tilt-propellers (5 blades each) for vertical lift and forward cruise, plus 6 fixed propellers (2 blades each) dedicated to vertical flight only.
Propulsion Unit Count
12
Redundancy Approach
12 electric motors across 6 independent battery packs, with no single critical point of failure.
Range / Speed
Company-published: up to 100 mi range; up to 150 mph. Optimized for repeated ~20 mi missions. Capacity: 1 pilot + 4 passengers.
Seat Count
4
Last Updated
September 25, 2026
Archer reports FAA Phase 3 closed in April 2026 and Phase 4 formal compliance testing and analysis in progress. Piloted city-to-city flights, including the No Roads tour from September 2026, demonstrate operating maturity, but Midnight has not received an FAA Type Certificate. Archer's pending acquisition of Wisk is expected to close by end-2026.
Execute and close the remaining FAA Phase 4 compliance demonstrations, tests and analyses required for Type Certification.
Midnight is Archer Aviation’s piloted, four-passenger electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing aircraft. It uses a winged distributed-electric-propulsion configuration intended for repeated short urban missions.
PropulsionWatch classifies Midnight as certification-stage and PRE-EIS: FAA compliance demonstration is active, while separate UAE activity provides an additional restricted-certification and operational pathway.
Midnight uses 12 electric propellers: six tilting five-blade propellers used in vertical and forward flight, plus six fixed two-blade lift propellers used for vertical flight. Archer describes six independent battery packs and 12 electric motors.
Company-published targets include up to 100 miles of range and up to 150 mph, with the aircraft optimized for repeated missions of roughly 20 miles. These are manufacturer figures rather than certified operational minima.
Archer reported in May 2026 that FAA Phase 3 of its four-phase Midnight Type Certification process had closed in April. Phase 4, formal compliance demonstration through testing and analysis, was already under way. The company has continued piloted flight-test and city-to-city operations in preparation for eIPP activity.
Those flight operations do not substitute for Type Certification. Archer’s eIPP preparations and the UAE restricted-certification pathway are separate regulatory routes from the FAA Type Certificate sought for widespread U.S. commercial service.
Archer has announced airline, defense and international operating relationships and is developing launch infrastructure and operating capability. PropulsionWatch separates those commercial preparations from certified passenger entry into service.
Documented dependencies include completion of FAA Phase 4 compliance demonstration, regulator verification and type certification, followed by the production and operating approvals applicable to the intended service. Market-specific approvals remain separate.
Manufacturer / investor release — 11 May 2026: Archer Q1 2026 results reporting closure of FAA Phase 3 and ongoing Phase 4 compliance testing. Source.
Manufacturer / investor release — 10 Aug 2026: Archer Q2 2026 results reporting piloted city-to-city Midnight flights and eIPP readiness work. Source.
Evidence classification: FAA-phase progress is company-reported; Type Certification remains outstanding.
September 25, 2026
