Speaker A
I'm so excited to talk to you. Thank you so much for being here. For those who might not be familiar, can you explain what Archer Aviation is all about?
Adam Goldstein discusses Archer Aviation's electric flying cars as the Olympics' official air taxi provider on The Tonight Show.
Key Takeaways
- Electric battery advancements are critical to enabling flying cars.
- Archer Aviation's Midnight aircraft offers a safe, quiet, and efficient urban air taxi solution.
- Flying cars can drastically reduce commute times by flying at around 1,500 feet.
- The combination of vertical takeoff and fixed-wing flight is a key design feature.
- Sci-fi inspiration fuels real-world innovation in aviation technology.
Summary
- Adam Goldstein explains Archer Aviation's mission to build electric flying cars that offer quick, quiet, and safe urban air mobility.
- The aircraft, named Midnight, can take off vertically and fly at about 1,500 feet, reducing typical traffic commutes from 60-90 minutes to 5-7 minutes.
- Goldstein highlights the importance of advancements in battery technology driven by electric vehicles enabling the development of flying cars.
- The design includes 12 propellers providing redundancy and safety, making the aircraft suitable for mass production.
- The flying car combines helicopter-like vertical takeoff with airplane-style forward flight.
- Goldstein shares his lifelong passion for sci-fi and turning futuristic concepts like flying cars into reality.
- The video shows the Midnight aircraft flying over the California skyline, demonstrating its capabilities.
- The interview touches on public skepticism and family reactions to the ambitious project.
- Archer Aviation is partnered as the official air taxi provider for the Olympics.
- The discussion emphasizes the transition from traditional aircraft development timelines to innovative urban air mobility solutions.
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
Speaker A
Yeah, we're building the future of aviation. These are flying cars. This is going to take you off the ground.
Speaker A
Stuck in traffic, 60 to 90 minutes into the air, 5 to 7 minute trips.
Speaker A
Really?
Speaker A
And how high off the ground are these?
Speaker A
So similar to helicopters. 1,500 feet.
Speaker A
Okay.
Speaker A
Yeah.
Speaker A
This is -- I got -- I got a chance to see this in real life.
Speaker A
And one called Midnight.
Speaker A
That's right.
Speaker A
And it's like you're stepping into the future. I sat in it, it's roomy. It feels safe.
Speaker A
It's amazing. The one I sat in had 12 propellers. No?
Speaker A
Yeah, it's got an incredible amount of redundancy.
Speaker A
When you go electric, all of a sudden you can build a totally new type of aircraft.
Speaker A
It allows you to build something at a very high level of safety, so you can produce it for the masses so everybody can take it.
Speaker A
But they're also super quiet, so you don't bother anybody.
Speaker A
How did it take so long for us to develop flying cars?
Speaker A
Because we were promised by the Jetsons flying cars. That is the future. And then no one did it.
Speaker A
Why didn't anyone do it? And I'm so happy that you did it.
Speaker A
Yeah, it's really all about the batteries.
Speaker A
The batteries had to get good enough, and so they did.
Speaker A
Oh, is that right?
Speaker A
Yeah, the ground vehicles, electric vehicles really pushed the whole battery technology.
Speaker A
And it allowed us to do this. And once you go electric, you can build a totally new type of aircraft.
Speaker A
And it's actually fascinating. 1903 is the Wright Flyer.
Speaker A
Okay.
Speaker A
First airplane.
Speaker A
Yeah.
Speaker A
1964, 60 years later is the first Boeing 737-100.
Speaker A
60 years later, here we go. Flying cars.
Speaker A
Yeah. [Cheers and applause] To give people a better idea of what we're talking about, you brought some video.
Speaker A
Can you talk us through what we're seeing here?
Speaker A
Yeah.
Speaker A
Okay, here we go.
Speaker A
So this is Midnight. This is our aircraft.
Speaker A
You can see it takes off vertically like a helicopter, flies forward on a wing, like an airplane.
Speaker A
And, of course, over the beautiful California skyline.
Speaker A
That's wild. Now, what inspired you to get involved with a flying car?
Speaker A
Was it the Jetsons?
Speaker A
So I've always loved -- I've always loved sci-fi. Sci-fi is just core to my, you know, my being.
Speaker A
And so I grew up watching these movies, and I would always want to just figure out how to turn science fiction to science fact.
Speaker A
How do you take all these amazing future gadgets and actually spend your whole life building them and bringing them to the world?
Speaker A
That's what I did. Flying cars.
Speaker A
Yeah, and your family thinks you're crazy or what do they say, they go like, "Yeah, Adam. Yeah. Great.
Speaker A
You're going to make a flying -- Good luck, buddy." Yeah. What are they -- What are they saying?
Speaker A
Yeah, my mom plays it cool. She's always like --
Topics:Archer AviationAdam Goldsteinflying carselectric aircrafturban air mobilityOlympics air taxiMidnight aircraftvertical takeoffbattery technologyThe Tonight Show
