The FAA has granted Archer Aviation’s flight school the Part 141 certificate it needs to begin training and certifying commercial pilots, the California-based eVTOL aircraft manufacturer announced on February 18.

As Archer prepares to certify its four-passenger Midnight air taxi, the company is also working to establish a training pipeline to begin building the eVTOL pilot workforce. Its pilot academy will initially use a Bell 206 helicopter for flight training activities starting in the fall (or the fourth quarter of 2025), a company spokeswoman told AIN.

Flight training on the Midnight eVTOL aircraft will begin after the FAA grants type inspection authorization (TIA), the spokeswoman said. TIA represents a milestone in the type certification process that signifies an aircraft is cleared to begin for-credit certification flight tests.

The FAA finalized its airworthiness criteria for the Midnight aircraft in May. Then in June, the regulator granted Archer a Part 135 operator certificate, clearing the company to begin operating on-demand commercial air taxi services with other already-certified aircraft, including a Beechcraft Bonanza A36.

Archer is also pursuing certification for a Part 142 flight training organization that would employ more simulator training, and the company said it has already begun that application process with the FAA.

While Archer maintains that the Midnight aircraft could enter commercial service in 2025, it appears increasingly likely that eVTOL air taxi operations could launch in the UAE before the U.S., where OEMs are still digesting the FAA’s new special federal aviation regulation (SFAR) on “powered-lift” pilot certification and operations. In the UAE, Archer has partnered with Etihad Aviation Training to begin recruiting and training pilots for the Midnight eVTOL aircraft.

Rival California-based eVTOL aircraft developer Joby Aviation, which also hopes to launch commercial air taxi operations in the UAE later this year, obtained its FAA Part 141 flight school authorization in December. Both Joby and Archer have obtained the FAA Part 145 repair station certificates they will need to conduct aircraft maintenance.