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Joby Aviation will&nbsp;mass-produce its four-passenger eVTOL in Dayton, Ohio—home of the Wright Brothers. The California-based eVTOL aircraft developer announced on Monday that it will build its first scaled production facility at Dayton International Airport, where it intends to manufacture hundreds of aircraft per year together with <a href="https://futureflight.aero/news-article/2023-05-01/joby-taps-toyota-manufacture-evtol-aircraft-components">its partner Toyota</a>.&nbsp;
“We’re building the future of aviation right where it all started, in Dayton, Ohio,” said Joby founder and CEO JoeBen Bevirt. “The Wright Brothers harnessed revolutionary technology of their time to open up the skies, and we intend to do the same—this time, bringing quiet and emissions-free flight that we hope will have an equally profound impact on our world.”
Construction on the 140-acre site, which is currently an empty plot,&nbsp;is expected to begin in 2024. Joby plans to open the facility and begin producing aircraft there in 2025—the same year it expects to complete the FAA type certification process and begin commercial air taxi operations. Both Joby and rival eVTOL developer Archer Aviation have now chosen to start mass production in lower-cost states than California, with the latter in the process of building a new factory in Georgia for its Midnight vehicle. Joby said it considered several other states as the location for its new manufacturing hub.&nbsp;
Joby has already begun producing its first few production-conforming aircraft at its pilot facility in Marina, California, where it recently <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2023-06-27/joby-rolls-out-first-production-prototype-evtol-air-taxi">rolled out the first aircraft</a> it intends to deliver to Edwards Air Force Base as part of its contract with the U.S. Air Force. Located about 35 miles south of Joby’s headquarters in Santa Cruz, the pilot production facility is where Joby and Toyota have been developing their manufacturing processes in preparation for mass production.
The company says its Marina facility is capable of manufacturing&nbsp;dozens of aircraft per year and will continue its role as the pilot production line and innovation facility. Some 150 positions are now open for recruitment at that site.
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The Phase 1 production facility in Dayton will be a scaled-up version of the assembly line in Marina, and it will be capable of producing up to 500 aircraft per year, according to Joby. The company says its Dayton site has “the potential to support significant further growth over time,” with enough room for up to 2 million square feet of manufacturing space.&nbsp;
The new factory will employ up to 2,000 people in the Dayton area, and the company says it will begin recruiting employees in the coming months. Its earliest hires will mostly be dedicated to building out the facility and machining parts that will initially be shipped back to Marina to support the pilot assembly line before full-scale production begins. Further details about new positions at the Ohio facility can be found at this <a href="https://jobyinohio.com/">web portal</a>, where prospective candidates can register their interest.
In the meantime, Joby says it will “use existing nearby buildings to begin near-term operations. Early roles are expected to focus on the build-out of the facility and the machining of parts that will initially be incorporated into Joby's low-volume production line in California.
Joby says it was offered up to $325 million in incentives from the state of Ohio and local governments to support the development of the facility. Meanwhile, Joby will invest up to $500 million to scale the facility. The company also announced on Monday that the U.S. Department of Energy has invited it to apply for special financing under its Title XVII Loan Guarantee Program, which provides low-interest loans for clean energy projects.&nbsp;
<h3 class="subheading">Range Limit Reboot, But No Mission Change</h3>
Joby’s all-electric air taxi, which has room for four passengers plus one pilot, is designed to fly on trips of up to 100 miles while producing zero emissions, and at speeds of up to 200 mph. The company will not only mass-produce the aircraft, but it also intends to operate them for commercial air taxi services in cities.
In recent months, Joby has started citing 100 miles as the maximum range for the electric aircraft, having previously projected 150 miles. The company did not explain the apparent change directly, but indicated that it does not expect the planned air taxi services&nbsp;to be compromised. "Our production aircraft is tailor-built for our primary mission, which is rapid, back-to-back trips of around 20 to 25 miles, of which the majority of journeys in New York and Los Angeles are of that distance or less," a spokesperson told&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in an email. "We expect to be able to perform these missions with little or no extra charging time required in between flights."
Joby's announcement of Dayton as its base for mass-producing the eVTOL aircraft was due to be marked by an event at Hawthorne Hill, the former home of Orville Wright. This was expected to conclude with a ceremonial flypast of a replica Model "B" Flyer, which was the world's first production aircraft.
Dayton Development Coalition president and CEO Jeff. Hoagland said the state government had urged the group to "land an eVTOL manufacturing facility" at its annual meeting in February 2022. "Twenty years ago, we developed a strategy aimed at supporting an emerging industry that not only aligned with the missions at Wright-Patt [the Wright-Patterson U.S. Air Force base], but represented the opportunity for private industry investment as well," he commented. "Our region's eVTOL tagline has urged companies to leverage the region's network of resources and 'Come here to test, stay here to build.' Joby is doing exactly that."

Science & Technology Editor

Hanneke Weitering

Joby’s First eVTOL Air Taxi Factory Is Coming to Dayton, Ohio

News and developments about airplanes, helicopters and unmanned air vehicles used in all varieties of operations, including airlines, military, business, commercial, general aviation and private.

Joby Aviation is getting ready to mass-produce eVTOL aircraft it says will transform transportation in and around crowded cities.

We Go Inside Joby Aviation’s Pilot Production Facility as It Starts eVTOL Production

At the Revolution.Aero conference on Wednesday in San Francisco, Joby Aviation head of product Eric Allison assured attendees that Joby expects its four-passenger eVTOL aircraft to begin commercial urban air mobility (UAM) operations in 2025.&nbsp;The company, which aims to launch its aerial ridesharing service in Los Angeles and New York City,&nbsp;is also working&nbsp;to add the eVTOL aircraft to its <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2022-05-26/joby-receives-part-135-operating-certificate-faa">Part 135 operating certificate</a>.
A majority of team members are working on the certification program, including type certification and production certification, Allison said. In July,&nbsp;Joby&nbsp;announced it had <a href="https://futureflight.aero/news-article/2023-07-06/joby-finishes-submitting-evtol-aircraft-certification-plans-faa">finished submitting&nbsp;its certification plans</a> to the FAA, shortly after it rolled out the <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2023-06-28/joby-rolls-out-first-production-prototype-evtol-air-taxi">first production prototype</a> at its pilot manufacturing facility in Marina, California.&nbsp;
“Certification is not to be underestimated,” Allison said. “It is a very arduous process on purpose. But that just gets us to the starting line.”
Joby’s approach to fielding an eVTOL aircraft is highly vertically integrated, with in-house design and development of flight control computers and systems, batteries, and other technology. “We think that’s the way to build the right integrated advanced system,” Allison said. “That’s the approach we’ve taken.”&nbsp;
The vertical integration extends to operating the aircraft, which Joby plans to do. “We’re developing a well-integrated suite of tools that allow us to run our operation with the aircraft we’re designing and building,” he said. “We think we have the right path for success.”
As it prepares to begin flying in communities that will be sensitive to noise, Joby continues to focus on <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2022-05-10/joby-nasa-test-flights-prove-evtol-noise-levels-will-be-acceptable-cities">noise reduction</a>. “That’s one of the things that differentiates Joby in a meaningful way,” Allison said. “It’s a popular conception that you can sprinkle electric propulsion fairy dust to cut noise. But electric propulsion allows us to design aircraft that can be quiet, and Joby has helped some of those realizations come to pass.”
Specifically, he explained, “One of the high-order drivers of noise is tip speed on propellers. You have to spin them relatively slowly to drive dramatic changes to the noise profile.” The problem eVTOL developers face is they have to decide between efficiency and noise, both of which increase as the speed of the motor climbs. However, Allison explained, “You have to put more torque to get power.”
The choice is between adding a complex gearbox that allows the propellers to spin slower, or increasing the torque on the motor while keeping the propellers at a speed that reduces noise. “We tried both and decided it’s not worth it to take on the additional complexity of a gearbox,” he said. “We decided to engineer the highest-performance torque class and spin the propellers slowly.”
As it enters the final stretches of certification, Joby is replicating a process that traditional aircraft manufacturers have long adopted:&nbsp;preparing maintenance processes so a support team is ready when the aircraft enters service. For commercial operations, it is also developing an “operating system,” which he said “is extremely well-connected.”
While the Joby aircraft’s 100-mile range is somewhat limiting, Allison doesn’t see this as an issue, at least in the early stages of eVTOL operations. “I view electric propulsion as very much one of these disruptive technologies. It lets you design airplanes with low noise and operating costs. We do give up range, but we think it’s a tradeoff. We don’t need range if we can address a UAM market with low noise and cost.”
In any case, he expects improvements in <a href="https://futureflight.aero/news-article/2023-08-04/amprius-declares-breakthrough-aviation-battery-technology">battery technology</a> to enable longer-range eVTOL flights in the future, and he said Joby could potentially employ hydrogen-electric technology in a subsequent model. For now, he concluded, “We’re focused on the first one, getting it to commercial service.”

Editor-in-Chief

Matt Thurber

Joby on Track for 2025 Commercial Operations

Joby Aviation says it has finished submitting all the certification plans for its eVTOL aircraft to the FAA, marking a significant milestone in its path to launching a commercial air taxi service in the U.S. in 2025. Last week, Joby <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2023-06-28/joby-rolls-out-first-production-prototype-evtol-air-taxi">rolled out the first production prototype</a> of the piloted, four-passenger aircraft at its flight testing facility in Marina, California, where the company has built a pilot production line together with its partner, Toyota.&nbsp;
With the submission of all its certification plans, Joby is close to completing the third of five stages of the FAA type certification process. In those certification&nbsp;plans, Joby has specified exactly what sort of testing, analyses, and design reports the company intends to complete&nbsp;to demonstrate its compliance with FAA safety regulations.&nbsp;
According to Joby, the stage-three submission includes about a dozen area-specific certification plans covering all the hardware and software that make up the aircraft’s various subsystems, such as the flight controls and the distributed electric propulsion system. It also includes detailed plans pertaining to cybersecurity and systems safety, according to the company.&nbsp;
Joby completed the second stage of certification in February when <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2023-02-08/joby-completes-faa-means-compliance-evtol-aircraft-type-certification">the FAA accepted its means of compliance</a>, a document that spells out how the company plans to comply with the safety rules that were defined in its certification basis. The FAA and Joby agreed on a certification basis for Joby’s eVTOL aircraft in 2020, making the company the first eVTOL developer to reach this regulatory milestone. The G-1 certification basis sets the specific <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-brief/2022-11-08/faa-reveals-evtol-airworthiness-criteria-proposed-type-certification-basis">airworthiness criteria</a> and environmental standards required for FAA type certification.
“Joby continues to lead the way on certifying eVTOL aircraft with the FAA, and today’s news is another step towards launching commercial service in 2025,” said Didier Papadopoulos, Joby’s head of aircraft OEM (original equipment manufacturing). “We’re grateful for the FAA’s continued commitment to safely introducing next-generation aircraft into service.”
When Joby rolled out the first production-representative version of its aircraft in Marina last week, the company also announced that it had received a special airworthiness certificate from the FAA, giving it the green light to begin flight testing. Joby has already logged more than 30,000 miles in flight tests with its earlier pre-production prototypes.&nbsp;
Joby plans to deliver this initial production prototype, or “<a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2023-02-13/joby-starts-final-assembly-company-conforming-evtol-aircraft">company-conforming aircraft</a>,” to Edwards Air Force Base in Southern California in early 2024 as part of its Agility Prime contract with the U.S. Air Force. This will be the first of up to nine aircraft that Joby will deliver to the USAF under that contract, which is <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2023-04-27/joby-wins-55-million-agility-prime-contract-extension-us-air-force">worth up to $131 million</a>, and it will mark the first time that any eVTOL aircraft is delivered to a paying customer. The company has been <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2021-02-09/joby-aviation-boosted-first-revenues-usaf-agility-prime-role">generating revenue</a> through its work on the Agility Prime program since 2021.&nbsp;
According to Joby, the company is on track to achieve FAA type certification in 2024, with commercial air taxi operations launching in 2025. The company has <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2022-10-11/delta-backs-joby-investment-and-plans-airport-rides-passengers">partnered with Delta Air Lines</a> to offer air taxi services for passengers traveling to and from Delta’s hub airports, with initial routes launching in Los Angeles and New York City.

Joby Finishes Submitting eVTOL Aircraft Certification Plans to the FAA

Joby Aviation is set to roll out the first electric air taxi assembled at its pilot production line in Marina, California.&nbsp;Ahead of the big reveal&nbsp;on Wednesday, the company announced that it received a special airworthiness certificate from the FAA, clearing the so-called “production prototype” for its first flight tests.&nbsp;
The California-based eVTOL manufacturer is unveiling the first production-conforming example of its air taxi prototype during a special event held jointly with Toyota, its <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2023-05-01/joby-taps-toyota-manufacture-evtol-aircraft-components">manufacturing partner</a> and <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2020-01-16/jobys-evtol-aircraft-program-boosted-toyotas-590-million-investment">biggest investor</a>, at the production facility in Marina. Joby also announced on Wednesday that it has appointed Tetsuo “Ted” Ogawa, president and CEO of Toyota Motor North America, to its board of directors.&nbsp;
Toyota has helped Joby design and build its pilot production line, and the car maker will continue to play a major role in the production and assembly of Joby’s piloted, four-passenger eVTOL air taxi. Joby says it is still looking to choose a location for its large-scale Phase 1 production facility, which it will build with the help of Toyota’s manufacturing expertise.
Joby’s newly revealed production prototype will be the first of up to nine aircraft that the company <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2023-04-27/joby-wins-55-million-agility-prime-contract-extension-us-air-force">will deliver to the U.S. Air Force</a> as part of its Agility Prime contract, which is worth up to $131 million. The first two deliveries are expected in early 2024 at Edwards Air Force Base in Southern California. When the first aircraft arrives, it will represent the first-ever delivery of any eVTOL aircraft to a paying customer. 
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 <div class="field field--name-field-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Joby's first production prototype eVTOL air taxi is pictured at the company's facilities in Marina, California. The five-seat eVTOL aircraft is intended to carry four passengers plus one pilot on trips of up to 150 miles (240 kilometers) on a single charge. (Photo: Joby Aviation)</div>
 
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<figcaption>Joby's first production prototype eVTOL air taxi is pictured at the company's facilities in Marina, California. The five-seat eVTOL aircraft is intended to carry four passengers plus one pilot on trips of up to 150 miles (240 kilometers) on a single charge. (Photo: Joby Aviation)</figcaption>
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A Joby spokesperson told FutureFlight&nbsp;that the company expects to build “several company-conforming aircraft at progressive levels of maturity before building an FAA-conforming aircraft,”&nbsp;which it will use for certification testing.&nbsp;“Tweaks and improvements may occur with subsequent aircraft off the line as we learn and mature our processes, but this is the design that we will certify,” the spokesperson said.&nbsp;
Joby expects to have its eVTOL aircraft type certified by 2024, and the company plans to launch and operate an air taxi service in the U.S. by 2025. In February, the company announced it had completed the second of five stages in the FAA type certification process with the completion of its <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2023-02-08/joby-completes-faa-means-compliance-evtol-aircraft-type-certification">means of compliance</a>, a document that details how it will comply with the safety rules defined in its certification basis.
While Joby’s aircraft is not yet certified, the company says its production prototype was “manufactured in accordance with a released design and built according to a complete implementation of a quality management system — an important step on the path to achieving the FAA type certification required to begin commercial passenger operations.”
According to Joby, the quality management system includes tracking and documentation of all aircraft components, management of engineering drawings and environmental conditions during fabrication, and a log of actions taken by manufacturing technicians. The company says the FAA regularly reviews this system as part of Joby’s work toward obtaining a production certificate, following type certification of the aircraft. Previously Joby has referred to this production prototype as a <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2023-02-13/joby-starts-final-assembly-company-conforming-evtol-aircraft">“company-conforming” aircraft</a>.&nbsp;
Joby says it has logged more than 30,000 miles in flight tests with its earlier pre-production prototypes since 2019. The company flew its first full-scale technology demonstrator in 2017.&nbsp;

Joby Rolls Out First 'Production Prototype' eVTOL Air Taxi

Electric air taxi developer Joby Aviation has received a $180 million investment from one of its long-term backers, Baillie Gifford. The British investment management firm, which is also a major backer of Tesla and Amazon,&nbsp;has agreed to purchase 43,985,681 newly issued shares of Joby’s common stock at a public offering price of $4.10 per share, Joby announced Wednesday before releasing its first <a href="https://ir.jobyaviation.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/63/joby-aviation-reports-first-quarter-2023-financial-results">quarterly financial report</a> of the year.&nbsp;
The news of Baillie Gifford’s equity investment came just days after Joby announced that it had won a <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2023-04-27/joby-wins-55-million-agility-prime-contract-extension-us-air-force">$55 million contract extension</a> with the U.S. Air Force’s Agility Prime program. As part of that extension, Joby has agreed to deliver up to nine of its five-seat eVTOL air taxis to Air Force bases, where the company will conduct its first revenue-generating operations. In a conference call with investors on Wednesday, Joby executive chairman Paul Sciarra explained that the Department of Defense&nbsp;(DoD) will pay Joby an activation fee for the delivery of each aircraft, plus an annual lease fee&nbsp;and an additional amount&nbsp;per flight hour.&nbsp;
During the quarterly earnings call, several investors raised questions about the timing of Baillie Gifford’s investment, as Joby had not disclosed any fundraising efforts in recent months. In fact, Joby ended the first quarter of 2023 with a comfortable $978 million in cash and short-term marketable securities, not including the new investment. Other big Joby investors&nbsp;include <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2022-10-11/delta-backs-joby-investment-and-plans-airport-rides-passengers">Delta Air Lines</a> and <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2020-01-16/jobys-evtol-aircraft-program-boosted-toyotas-590-million-investment">Toyota Motor Corp</a>.&nbsp;
“We are very comfortable with the robustness of our balance sheet, and we were not looking to raise capital at this time,” Joby chief financial officer Matt Field said during the investor call. “However, when Baillie Gifford—an existing long-term investor in Joby since 2020—reached out, looking to increase their investment on behalf of their clients, we agreed that further strengthening our balance sheet was the right thing to do with an investor that is so closely aligned with our mission and shares our long-term perspective.”
Joby founder and CEO JoeBen Bevirt added that Baillie Gifford “is known for their track record of investing early in high-impact technology companies and has a reputation of being a patient long-term investor with a vision for sustainable transportation that matches ours.”&nbsp;
Bevirt and other members of Joby’s leadership team noted that the additional investment from Baillie Gifford will allow Joby to scale its pilot production facility sooner. They explained that this will help to expedite the deliveries of <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/aircraft-program/joby-evtol">Joby’s eVTOL aircraft</a> to its first customers at the DoD&nbsp;without sacrificing the revenues that the company will need to get its aircraft through the FAA type certification process.&nbsp;
Joby expects to have its aircraft certified by 2024, the same year that it plans to deliver the first two aircraft to the DoD. The company also plans to launch and operate a commercial air taxi service for civilians in the U.S. in 2025.

Joby Secures $180 Million Investment from Longtime Backer Baillie Gifford

Electric air taxi developer Joby Aviation is expanding its partnership with Toyota Motor Corporation. The Japanese carmaker has agreed to supply key&nbsp;components for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/aircraft-program/joby-evtol">Joby’s eVTOL aircraft</a>, the companies announced on April 27.&nbsp;
Toyota will manufacture some components of the aircraft’s powertrain and actuators—devices that control its moving parts—before sending them to Joby’s powertrain and electronics manufacturing facility in San Carlos, California. Joby engineers there&nbsp;will then finish assembling the actuators and powertrain components and deliver&nbsp;them&nbsp;to the company’s pilot production facility in Marina, California, for integration into the four-passenger aircraft.
“Our partnership with Toyota continues to be an integral part of Joby’s success, from assisting in the design of our pilot production line in Marina, California, to supplying key components for our aircraft,” said Joby founder and CEO JoeBen Bevirt. “Their expertise and knowledge have helped put us on track to deliver, at scale, an aircraft that we believe is truly best in class.”
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<div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blockmediaimagefield-caption">
 
 
 
 <div class="field field--name-field-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Joby has logged more than 10,000 nautical miles in flight testing for its four-passenger eVTOL aircraft. (Image: Joby)</div>
 
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<figcaption>Joby has logged more than 10,000 nautical miles in flight testing for its four-passenger eVTOL aircraft. (Image: Joby)</figcaption>
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Toyota has been working with Joby since 2020 when it <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2020-01-16/jobys-evtol-aircraft-program-boosted-toyotas-590-million-investment">invested $394 million</a> in the California-based eVTOL developer. With its vast experience and expertise in designing and manufacturing automobiles, including electric vehicles, Toyota has been a valuable asset to Joby as not only an investor but also as a supplier and strategic partner. In addition to providing aircraft components, Toyota has been helping Joby build its pilot production facility in Marina.
“They also collaborate with us on designs, manufacturing processes, layouts, quality management, development, and so on," Didier Papadopoulos, Joby's head of aircraft OEM, told FutureFlight. "So&nbsp;they're really integral to our business from beginning to end, and we're really grateful for that partnership.”
Initially, Joby’s Marina facility will produce about a dozen aircraft per year. The company is using the facility as a testbed for the aircraft manufacturing process before constructing a much larger Phase 1 production facility, which it says will be capable of building hundreds of aircraft per year. Joby is in the process of choosing a site for that&nbsp;facility. Rival eVTOL developer Archer Aviation recently announced that it will be building its full-scale production facility in Georgia.&nbsp;
Joby and Archer both plan to launch air taxi services using their eVTOL aircraft in 2025, shortly after achieving FAA type certification by the end of 2024. In February, Joby announced that it had completed the second of five stages of the certification process when the FAA approved its <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2023-02-08/joby-completes-faa-means-compliance-evtol-aircraft-type-certification">means of compliance</a>, a document that details how the company intends to comply with all the safety rules defined in its certification basis. Around the same time, Joby announced that it had begun assembling the <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2023-02-13/joby-starts-final-assembly-company-conforming-evtol-aircraft">first “company-conforming” version</a> of its eVTOL aircraft.

Joby Taps Toyota To Manufacture eVTOL Aircraft Components

Joby Aviation could soon be the first eVTOL air taxi developer to operate its aircraft on U.S. Air Force bases. The California-based company announced Tuesday that it has received a $55 million contract extension from the USAF’s Agility Prime program, bringing the total potential value of its defense contracts up to $131 million.&nbsp;
As part of the new deal, Joby is planning to deliver up to nine of its five-seat air taxis to USAF bases. The first two are expected to arrive at Edwards Air Force Base in Southern California by early 2024. Joby says the learnings from its work with the Department of Defense will help the company build momentum as it gears up for the launch of its commercial air taxi services in 2025.
Last week, four Air Force test pilots had the opportunity to remotely pilot <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/aircraft-program/joby-evtol">Joby’s eVTOL aircraft</a> during flight tests at the company’s manufacturing facility in Marina, California. According to Joby, this was the first time that USAF pilots flew any eVTOL aircraft as the sole pilot-in-command throughout the full flight envelope, including a flight during which the aircraft transitions from vertical lift supplied by its tilting propellers to fully wing-borne, horizontal flight. Achieving a transition flight is a huge milestone for any eVTOL developer, and Joby became the first company to accomplish this with an uncrewed, remotely piloted prototype in 2017.&nbsp;
“This next step of getting Air Force pilots trained and operating Joby aircraft at an Air Force installation is an incredibly important milestone for the program, providing key insights to actual operations and use-case validation for advanced air mobility aircraft,” said Lt. Col. Tom Meagher, who leads the USAF’s Afwerx research and development program.&nbsp;
Joby has been working with the Department of Defense for more than five years. In 2020, the USAF granted Joby its first <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2020-12-14/us-air-force-approves-jobys-evtol-aircraft-military-flights">airworthiness certification</a> through the Agility Prime program, marking the first time an eVTOL aircraft was approved for use by the military branch. Last year, the <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2022-08-10/joby-expands-pentagon-evtol-partnership-include-us-marine-corps">Marine Corps</a> also partnered with Joby to explore non-combat use cases for its eVTOL aircraft, including cargo resupply missions, emergency medical response applications, and relocation of personnel. According to Joby, the Army and Navy have also expressed interest in using Joby’s eVTOL aircraft.&nbsp;
With FAA type certification anticipated in 2024, Joby is planning to launch its commercial air taxi services in the U.S. in 2025. The company has partnered with Delta Air Lines to transport passengers to and from airports, with the first routes launching in New York City and Los Angeles. Although Joby is not yet transporting paying customers, the company says it has already begun <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2021-02-09/joby-aviation-boosted-first-revenues-usaf-agility-prime-role">generating some revenue</a> through its Agility Prime contracts.

Joby Wins $55 Million Agility Prime Contract Extension from U.S. Air Force

Joby Aviation has begun wind tunnel testing with one of its eVTOL aircraft propellers at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California, the company announced on Thursday. The tests are taking place inside the National Full-Scale Aerodynamic Complex (NFAC), which is the world’s largest wind tunnel facility.
The NFAC is managed by the U.S. Air Force’s Arnold Engineering Development Complex and contains two of the largest operational wind tunnels in the world. These wind tunnels have been used to test the aerodynamic performance of a variety of aircraft, such as the V-22 Osprey, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, and even NASA’s space shuttles.&nbsp;
The larger of the two NFAC wind tunnels measure 80 feet by 120 feet (24 by 37 meters) and is large enough to test full-scale aircraft, whereas most other wind tunnels are used to test smaller scale models. Joby is using the smaller of the two NFAC wind tunnels, which measures 40 feet by 80 feet (12 by 24 meters), to test the performance of its electric propellers.&nbsp;
Joby, which is headquartered in Santa Cruz, California, is developing a four-seat eVTOL aircraft for commercial air taxi services as well as military uses. It will be the first company to test an eVTOL aircraft component in the NFAC, according to Joby.&nbsp;
“Testing is a critical part of our aircraft program, and the opportunity to gather data on the performance of our propellers in one of the world’s largest wind tunnels is an exciting step toward commercialization,” said Joby founder and CEO JoeBen Bevirt. “This facility helped introduce historic aircraft to the world, and now it’s doing the same for the next generation of sustainable aviation.”
During Joby’s wind tunnel testing campaign, the company will subject its production-intent electric propulsion unit and propeller assembly to a full range of wind speeds while testing its performance at multiple different angles of tilt. <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/aircraft-program/joby-evtol">Joby’s eVTOL aircraft</a> has six tilting propellers that can articulate to provide either horizontal or vertical thrust, or a combination of both. Instruments will be mounted on the five-bladed propeller to measure the loads experienced during rotation. The wind tunnel testing campaign is slated to continue for several months.
Data from the wind tunnel tests will provide Joby with “consistent and high-fidelity data on the performance, loads, and acoustics of its propeller systems,” according to Joby. That data will then help to inform Joby’s certification program with the FAA. Earlier this month, Joby announced that it had completed the second of five stages of its certification process with the FAA’s <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2023-02-08/joby-completes-faa-means-compliance-evtol-aircraft-type-certification">approval of its means of compliance</a>, a document that spells out exactly how the company plans to comply with all the safety rules that were defined in its certification basis. The company also announced earlier this week that it had begun <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2023-02-13/joby-starts-final-assembly-company-conforming-evtol-aircraft">assembling the first “company-conforming” version</a> of its four-passenger eVTOL aircraft.

Joby Starts Testing eVTOL Propeller in World’s Largest Wind Tunnel Facility

Joby Aviation says it has notched another major milestone on the path to type certification for its&nbsp;five-seat <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/aircraft-program/joby-evtol">eVTOL air</a>craft. The company today announced it has completed the second of five stages in the FAA type certification process by completing its means of compliance, a document that outlines all the ways in which the company plans to comply with the safety rules that were defined in its certification basis.
According to Joby, the FAA has now accepted 94 percent&nbsp;of its means of compliance requirements. The company considers this stage to be “essentially complete,” because “it is typical for a small portion of the means of compliance to remain open to allow for further collaboration on minor design changes and improvements that may occur later in the certification process,” Joby officials said in a February 9 statement.&nbsp;
As the first Western eVTOL air taxi developer to reach this critical milestone, Joby appears to have strengthened its position as a front-runner among companies seeking FAA type certification for new eVTOL aircraft. Joby was also the first company to have its certification basis approved and published in the Federal Register.&nbsp;
“Certification is an integral part of everything that an aerospace company does, and with the achievement of this critical milestone, we’re now able to confidently focus our efforts on closing the remaining certification plans and completing the testing required to certify our aircraft,” said Didier Papadopoulos, head of aircraft OEM at Joby.&nbsp;
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 <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/futureflight/import/FAA%20Acting%20Administrator%2C%20Billy%20Nolen%2C%20and%20Joby%20Head%20of%20Aircraft%20OEM%2C%20Didier%20Papadopoulos%2C%20watch%20Joby%27s%20all-electric%20aircraft%20take-off%20at%20Marina%20Airport%2C%20CA.%20%28credit%20Joby%20Aviation%29.jpg" width="5616" height="3744" alt="FAA acting administrator, Billy Nolen, and Joby's head of aircraft OEM, Didier Papadopoulos, watch Joby's all-electric aircraft take-off at Marina Airport in California." title="FAA acting administrator, Billy Nolen, and Joby's head of aircraft OEM, Didier Papadopoulos, watch Joby's all-electric aircraft take-off at Marina Airport in California. (Image: Joby Aviation)">

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 <div class="field field--name-field-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">FAA acting administrator, Billy Nolen, and Joby's head of aircraft OEM, Didier Papadopoulos, watch Joby's all-electric aircraft take-off at Marina Airport in California. (Image: Joby Aviation)</div>
 
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<figcaption>FAA acting administrator, Billy Nolen, and Joby's head of aircraft OEM, Didier Papadopoulos, watch Joby's all-electric aircraft take-off at Marina Airport in California. (Image: Joby Aviation)</figcaption>
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The next stage of Joby’s certification process will be the submission of its certification plans to the FAA. During this stage of certification, a company must come up with a plan to demonstrate how it will meet the means of compliance by testing the aircraft and its various subsystems. The company says it has already made substantial progress with this stage, having submitted to the FAA four area-specific certification plans and its first equipment-level qualification test plan.&nbsp;
Meanwhile, Joby has already made a head start on the fourth stage of certification, in which the company must complete thousands of tests and inspections in accordance with the certification plans drawn up in the third stage. For the fifth and final stage of certification, the FAA must analyze and verify the results of the tests completed in stage four. When this is complete, the FAA will issue Joby a type certificate.
Joby has said it plans to complete the type certification process in late 2024, with commercial air taxi operations starting in 2025. However, initial military operations for U.S. defense customers could commence in 2024.
The FAA published <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-brief/2022-11-08/faa-reveals-evtol-airworthiness-criteria-proposed-type-certification-basis">Joby’s proposed type certification basis</a> in the U.S. Federal Register in November 2022. It published a summary of the five stages of type certification in its <a href="https://d1io3yog0oux5.cloudfront.net/_97f3704cd8484878fe399afee5dcb749/jobyaviation/db/1111/9789/file/Joby+-+Q2_2022-+Shareholder+Letter_081122_1p.pdf">2Q 2022 shareholder letter</a>.
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 <div class="field field--name-field-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">How Joby Completed the Second Stage of eVTOL Certification</div>
 
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