The race is on to develop a battery-powered aircraft. But not everyone’s convinced it will bring us closer to net-zero flight
On 16 December 2021, a group of men dressed in the sober, branded casual wear of the Silicon Valley startup gathered on the asphalt at an airstrip outside Salinas, California. In front of them stood a black shiny capsule on three spindly legs, which resembled the offspring of a suppository and a golf trolley, with a V-tail like a humpback whale. Its single cross-span wing had four banks of three rotor blades – six at the front and six at the back – which made the sound of a loud hairdryer. As the spectators bobbed nervously from foot to foot, the machine rose into the air, tipped a bow, and hovered for 10 seconds or so before coming gently to earth. Everyone cheered and clapped and exchanged slightly standoffish hugs. Back in the headquarters of Archer Aviation in Palo Alto, watching events on a huge screen, the rest of the company’s employees were on their feet, whooping and whistling.
It was the first test flight for Maker, Archer Aviation’s version of a new kind of aircraft called an electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicle. This masterpiece of nomenclature should on no account be attempted when drunk; its acronym, eVTOL, is also hard to get your mouth around; and consensus is lacking over whether the “e” should be capitalised. The bet that significant numbers of investors are making is that eVTOLs, if that is what they continue to be called, will be big. Three months before the test flight, Archer had merged with a special purpose acquisition company, or Spac, also known as a blank-cheque company.
