Archer Aviation is showcasing a new mixed-reality flight training device for the four-passenger Midnight eVTOL aircraft this week at the Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation, and Education Conference (I/ITSEC) in Orlando, Florida.

Developed in partnership with Vertex Solutions, a company that specializes in extended-reality (XR) training tools, the Midnight MR FTD will support Archer’s ongoing work with the U.S. Air Force, which is training military pilots to fly the Midnight aircraft. In October 2023, Archer reported that the USAF paid $1 million to deliver a “mobile flight simulator.” Archer also intends to deliver the flight simulation training device (FSTD) to Etihad Aviation Training in the UAE. 

Archer and Vertex are targeting “an eVTOL equivalent” of FAA Level 7 FTD certification for the Midnight MR FTD— the most technologically sophisticated category of FAA-certified FSTDs behind full flight simulators, which involve higher-fidelity replicas.

According to Vertex Solutions president and chief operating officer Dennis Wikoff, the Midnight MR FTD “is poised to become the inaugural FAA-qualified mixed-reality eVTOL aircraft flight training device.”

Archer's Midnight MR FTD features model-specific hardware in an enclosed flight deck integrated with a custom simulator platform provided by Ryan Aerospace, Varjo XR-4 headsets, and Aechelon Technology’s Nucleus image generator. 

“Flight simulators and mixed-reality devices will play a critical role in the training of our pilots,” said Tom Anderson, chief operating officer of Archer’s urban air mobility division, which will oversee Midnight operations. “Partnering with Vertex Solutions allows us to leverage their expertise in mixed-reality training to ensure that our pilots are exceptionally prepared to operate Midnight safely and efficiently.”

Vertex Solutions works with its customers to create custom interactive training programs that it says can help employees learn faster, remember longer, and perform better. In addition to mixed-reality flight simulator training devices, Vertex has developed various technology-enabled training solutions for defense customers and other government entities in the U.S. and abroad, including the FAA and just about every executive department in the federal government. 

Last year the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) awarded Vertex a contract to prototype and integrate an F-16 MR FTD for the USAF. Separately, in 2022, Vertex won a DIU-sponsored contract to develop a reconfigurable “multi-place mixed-reality” (MPMR) rotary-wing flight simulator for the USAF. 

The Midnight MR FTD is on display at Vertex Solutions’ booth at I/ITSEC in Orlando on December 2-6.