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The constraint governing every eVTOL program right now is FAA type certification, a multiphase airworthiness process built for conventional aircraft that is being applied, with difficulty, to a vehicle class built on distributed electric propulsion and software-managed flight controls.
Until a company clears that process, its aircraft cannot carry commercial passengers, which means its business model has no revenue floor.
Archer Aviation moved to create an alternative floor: the company unveiled a military aircraft developed with defense technology company Anduril, and shares jumped 18%.
The certification wall every eVTOL company is running into Type certification for a novel aircraft category requires the FAA to first establish which airworthiness criteria apply to the specific design, then the applicant must demonstrate compliance across structural, performance, and systems requirements, with agency review at each phase.
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