Archer Aviation, a company developing electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles (eVTOLs) – basically flying taxis – just cleared a major hurdle on their journey to bringing their Midnight aircraft to the skies.
Here’s the deal: safety is paramount when it comes to flying cars or flying anything for that matter. So, aviation authorities make sure everything is super strong and can handle even the worst-case scenarios.
One such test involves dropping battery packs from a height to see if they can take the blow. Archer recently conducted these tests at a fancy aviation research lab. They didn’t just drop the battery packs once, though – they did it three times! The packs took a tumble from 50 feet with varying battery levels (full, half-full, and empty) to simulate different situations.
The good news? Archer’s battery packs emerged victorious from each drop and still worked perfectly! The company credits their choice of cylindrical battery cells for this success. Apparently, this design is particularly tough and can withstand a beating.
This achievement is a big win for Archer. As Alex Clarabut, Archer’s Battery Lead, says, it shows their commitment to exceeding safety standards, not just meeting them. It’s a crucial step towards making their Midnight aircraft one of the safest flyers around. So, the dream of hopping in a flying taxi might be getting a little closer to reality!
