AN ARCHER AVIATION eVTOL aircraft.

Huntington Beach already has an annual air show and a police helicopter.
Surf City may soon take to the wild blue yonder in another way.

At last weeks’ meeting, the city council on a 7-0 vote approved a “letter of intent” to partner with Archer Aviation to provide an “air taxi” service using eVTOL (electric vertical take-off-and landing) aircraft that would connect Huntington Beach with the 2028 Olympic and ParalympicGames in Los Angeles and surrounding areas.

Once a final agreement is reached, Archer states that Huntington Beach would be the “lead municipal partner” in the operation.

The ultimate decision would come after an application is made to the federal Integration Pilot Program for the eVTOL.

Unlike a traditional airplane, a VTOL doesn’t require a long runway to takeoff or land. They can – as the name indicates – take off and land vertically. Some are equipped with a tilt-rotor design, in which once the rotors lift the craft vertically, they then tilt to provide propulsion.

A “fixed-wing” aircraft (or airplane) needs to accelerate horizontally before taking flight.