eVTOL manufacturer Archer Aviation will “acquire control” of Hawthorne Airport near downtown Los Angeles for $126 million in cash and intends to make it a hub for its urban air mobility operations for the 2028 Olympics and beyond. It appears the land will remain in the city’s ownership. It is not clear if it will remain a public use airport and what will happen to the based aircraft and FBO there. We’ve asked that question but have not received a response. The company news release did not mention GA operations at all but did say the following:
“Archer plans for the airport to serve as its operational hub for its planned L.A. air taxi network operations, including serving a key role in the LA28 Olympics Games. Archer also plans to utilize the airport as an innovation testbed for the next-generation AI-powered aviation technologies that it is developing and planning to deploy with its airline and technology partners. This includes AI-powered air traffic and ground operations management, in addition to other key technologies.“
Hawthorne Airport sits on 80 acres surrounded on all sides by residential and commercial development. It is just 3 miles from LAX and about 12 miles from downtown L.A. It is home to FBO Jet Center Los Angeles and Star Helicopters. It has about 75,000 operations per year.
I trained at Hawthorne (HHR) in the 1960s with Rose Aviation, years after Jack Northrop’s Flying Wings, the XB-35, YB-35, and jet-powered YB-49, had been scrapped under Air Force orders. General LeMay gave Jack a rough ride, and by 1953 all were destroyed, scrapped, though people still spoke of them with quiet awe. The aircraft were ferried from HHR to Muroc Field, now Edwards, for flight testing.
Now Archer is moving in to build its air-taxi hub for the 2028 Olympics. The city still owns the field, but no one knows what will happen to GA access or fees. It’s hard to imagine the old Rose flight line sharing space with eVTOLs and AI dispatch, but times change. Hawthorne sits beside SpaceX and just two miles from LAX’s Runways 25L and 25R. If you can fly in and out of HHR, you can fly anywhere.
Does the city still own the field if Archer just bought it?
Yes. The city will remain the owner.
Time will tell if this development is another method of closing an urban-area GA airport in favor of development. Low income housing has trended toward the top of the list. If or when Archer’s investors bail, I won’t be surprised if building commences as soon as the SoCal municipal administration-generated haze clears.
I doubt the City of Hawthorne has sold the airport. That would generate all kinds of problems with FAA grant assurances. Perhaps Archer is buying one of the businesses operating on the field?
Well, it says that the land remains owned by the city, then what has Archer bought?