Midnight eVTOL is designed to fly distances of up to 100 miles, but optimized to conduct back-to-back flights of around 20 miles — with just ~12 minutes of charge time in between.
Archer Aviation announced that its Midnight eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) aircraft was recently recognized by the MUSE Design Awards.
The MUSE Design Awards celebrates and honours the world’s best in design and innovation. Archer’s Midnight eVTOL won the “Transportation Design of the Year” category — and for good reason.
Unlike the conventional automotive industry, the skin of an eVTOL aircraft cannot be designed alone. The entire aircraft must be designed collectively with engineering and industrial design teams working together to achieve a final product that meets the strict aerodynamics and weight demands required for the aircraft to perform.
“When setting out to design Midnight, we focused on creating a powerful aircraft design that forged an emotional connection between passenger and aircraft,” said Julien Montousse, a designer with Archer and the former head of Design at Mazda North America. “Midnight combines high function with high emotion, delivering a travel experience unlike any other. From the moment you lay eyes on the aircraft to the experience of gazing down at the community you live in, Midnight’s design delivers an unparalleled sense of connection to the world around you, creating a sense of inspiration like nothing else.”
Archer’s team of design professionals includes Montousse, as well as Niki Smart (designer of the Cadillac at GM), and Greg Warmsley (former executive creative director at Mazda). Together, the team created the Midnight aircraft.
“Midnight is poised to unlock freedom of movement within and around cities on an entirely new level,” added Montousse. “After spending most of my life designing cars, I saw from a distance that technology breakthroughs were happening in aerospace and that they would unlock new aircraft architectures. When developing a product in a completely new space like eVTOL aircraft, it’s important to instil confidence and earn the trust of consumers.”
The MUSE Design Awards is an international design competition dedicated to recognizing excellent and original design work from around the world. Its mission is to honour and celebrate outstanding design innovators while inspiring others to elevate the standards of the design world.
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