Copyright Los Angeles Times
A possible three-year pilot program that would bring a vertical taxi to Huntington Beach was presented to the City Council during a study session Tuesday night by Archer Aviation representatives. Archer is an electric aircraft technology company that’s looking to expand its network, said George Kivork, the firm’s general manager for Southern California. The aircraft is 100 times quieter than a helicopter, Kivork said. “We would like to explore the opportunity to bring this zero-emission, all-electric aircraft to this market, to this community,” Kivork said. The aircraft seats four passengers and a pilot, goes up to 150 miles per hour and has a range of up to 100 miles. The idea is to utilize the plane for short hops between cities, like from Huntington Beach to Los Angeles International Airport or Long Beach Airport. He added that the company has been working with the Federal Aviation Administration to become certified. It is currently in the test pilot phase. Archer recently purchased a 60,000-square-foot research and development facility in Huntington Beach from Mission Critical Composites. Archer also announced this week that it is purchasing Hawthorne Airport for $126 million, in conjunction with plans to become an air taxi provider for upcoming events including the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. In June, President Trump signed an executive order titled “Unleashing American Drone Dominance.” Melissa McCaffrey, Archer’s head of government affairs, said during the presentation that this clears the way for a launch. Proposals to the federal government for such programs must be submitted by Dec. 11. “The city would be the lead in this application, and we would be supportive,” McCaffrey said. Councilmember Chad Williams asked the representatives to speak more about the economic benefits of a partnership. “I think, long-term, there’s a lot of opportunity for this to be an economic driver for the city, with job creation,” McCaffrey responded. “When it comes to the actual aircraft operations, we’ll have maintenance folks, scheduling folks ... And the pilots have the opportunity to stay local, so I do anticipate a lot of the pilot jobs will be folks that live in Huntington Beach and [elsewhere in] Orange County.” Kivork said Archer is currently flying regularly and testing the aircraft at Salinas Airport in Northern California. The aircraft can charge within a few minutes for the “short hop” flights and then can be fully charged at the end of the night, similarly to a cellphone. Since the aircraft utilizes vertical takeoffs and landings, it does not require a runway. Councilmember Andrew Gruel confirmed that there’s no money investment necessary on the part of Huntington Beach, and brought up “The Jetsons” cartoon series for residents who might be worried about rapid expansion. “We will not be flooding the skies with several aircraft,” McCaffrey said to him. “It will definitely be a gradual thing over the course of time.”
