Archer Aviation isn’t just building a new kind of aircraft—it’s pioneering the technologies that will power the future of aviation.

Its fully electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, Midnight, is designed to make sustainable air travel an everyday reality. Guided by its bold mission to Unlock the Skies™, Archer aims to reimagine how we move within and between cities by offering a safe, low-noise solution for short-haul urban transportation.

Spearheading this urban mobility transformation is Dr. Tramone Curry, Director of Integrated Test at Archer Aviation. Dr. Curry and his team are at the forefront of proving that Midnight can meet—and exceed—the safety, reliability, and performance requirements set by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

“As we push toward commercial operation, our certification schedule is probably the most aggressive ever attempted in aviation history,” said Dr. Curry. “And we are able to do that because of our ability to test flight software and hardware at scale in our labs.”

Proving an entirely new class of aircraft is safe, reliable, and ready to scale commercially isn’t easy. Archer has to demonstrate that Midnight can handle tens of thousands of different flight scenarios, logging thousands of flight hours in both real-world operations and simulated environments.

With multiple teams across different labs developing each control system and its components, Archer needed a test solution capable of validating every system in isolation and as part of the fully integrated aircraft.

Adding to the complexity, some component testers were already in place, and much of the cabling and infrastructure was pre-built into the facility—requiring any new solution to work within tight integration and space constraints.

Time, however, was the biggest challenge. The system had to be designed, built, and deployed on a compressed timeline by a lean team to meet Archer’s aggressive development milestones.

To meet these extraordinary demands, Archer turned to Emerson T&M’s powerful testing solutions. Using NI LabVIEW, NI VeriStand, NI PXI hardware, and NI Switch, Load, and Signal Conditioning (SLSC) hardware, Archer’s team built sophisticated hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) systems capable of simulating and validating nearly every scenario required for FAA certification.

When selecting test hardware, Archer prioritized speed, cost efficiency, platform familiarity, and the flexibility to scale and customize across evolving requirements. The NI SLSC hardware met all the needs.

Like NI PXI products, NI SLSC hardware provided the modular flexibility needed to streamline and standardize complex test demands—including signal routing and fault injection, digital output simulation, real/simulated line replaceable unit (LRU) switching, and variable differential transformer (VDT) emulation. NI SLSC hardware made building and scaling these complex test configurations easier by simplifying how various signals connect to and from the test setup.

To further enhance flexibility, Archer integrated breakout panels originally designed for NI LRU test systems. These panels allowed the team to easily monitor, simulate, and interface with any subsystem while also enabling the injection of fault signals that standard systems can’t replicate.

On the software side, Archer needed a platform that could simultaneously monitor signals between NI LRUs, inject failure signals, and acquire data through instrumentation. To meet these demands, the team adopted a distributed simulation architecture, using MathWorks® Simulink® software to generate custom aircraft and environmental models, which were then integrated into NI VeriStand for real-time execution.

NI VeriStand’s intuitive interface enabled automated I/O channel configuration, stimuli generation, and data logging. Running NI LabVIEW code directly on the NI VeriStand engine ensured precise deterministic test sequences across Archer’s custom models—delivering the real-time performance required for flight-critical systems.

Because timing is everything when flying a virtual aircraft, Archer used the IRIG-B protocol to synchronize systems with high precision. They also leveraged the NI Data Sharing Framework and remote direct memory access (RDMA) plug-in to enable fast, real-time data exchange across the entire simulation environment.

The partnership between Archer and Emerson T&M has delivered remarkable results:

• Completion of six component HIL benches and three integration test labs in three months—a process that traditionally takes 12 to 18 months
• Capital costs 30 percent less compared to other HIL vendors
• Rapid procurement of standard components with short lead times
• Customizable, scalable systems that adapt to evolving requirements and lab constraints

By combining robust, modular hardware with an open, flexible software ecosystem, Archer has created an advanced test architecture that simulates real-world conditions and supports rapid iteration—delivering the speed, precision, and adaptability required to bring Midnight to life.

In February 2025, Archer reached a significant milestone, receiving FAA certification for its pilot training academy. This critical step lays the groundwork for building a team of pilots ready to fly Midnight across the United States.

Looking ahead, the company has set its sights high with a goal to deliver 3,000 Midnight aircraft by 2030, paving the way for a new era of safe, sustainable urban air mobility.

“For us, Emerson T&M isn’t just a vendor. They’re a true partner,” said Dr. Curry. “They’ve helped us stay on track with our aggressive certification schedule while ensuring we meet the rigorous standards of safety and reliability that air travel demands.”

As Midnight moves closer to commercial operation, it does so backed by scalable, flexible test systems that evolve alongside the aircraft—empowering Archer to maintain its unprecedented pace, innovate with confidence, and stay focused on its mission to Unlock the Skies™.