Joby Aviation – an eVTOL manufacturer and future commercial air taxi operator – is preparing to launch aviation services in 2024. The prototype is in flight test, and Joby Aviation has a partnership with Uber to connect aerial taxis with ground ride-hailing. Furthermore, Joby Aviation is partnering with Skyports Infrastructure to build a "Living Lab passenger terminal” to test future airport terminal experiences and technologies – months after a successful FAA Part 21.17b certification. In short, Joby Aviation is aiming for a 2024 launch of aerial taxi services with many partners - in fact, too many to list all of them here.
Joby’s vision
Photo: Joby Aviation
In the words of Joby Aviation Founder and CEO JoeBen Bevirt to Bloomberg Technology on June 7th,
"To bring this vision to life, of being able to move people, allow people to live where they want to live, work where they want to work. This is, if you think back through the apex of history as we moved from walking to riding horses to the railroad to automobiles; they reshaped our civilization."
Joby Aviation test flying
Joby Aviation has at least two pre-production prototypes in active flight test. The aircraft have one pilot and seating for four passengers. The unnamed aircraft have over 1,000 test flights, and are planned to go up to 150 mi (240 km) with a top speed of 200 mph (320 km/h).
Furthermore, as per above, Joby Aviation has partnered with NASA to do sound testing. The aircraft is quieter than a helicopter and even a Cirrus SR-22 general aviation aircraft. Plenty of engineering was done to ensure Joby's eVTOL is a quiet aircraft with low revolutions per minute (RPM).
Infographic: Joby Aviation
In a May 10 statement, Joby Aviation announced ground-breaking findings of the equivalent of 45.2 A-weighted decibels (dBA) from an altitude of 1640 feet (500 meters) at 100 knots airspeed. This verifiable fact is a relief in times of noise pollution agitation groups targeting aviation. To Joby Aviation CEO Bevirt in the statement;
With an aircraft this quiet, we have the opportunity to completely rethink how we live and travel today, helping to make flight an everyday reality in and around cities.
It's worth noting that Joby Aviation’s electric-powered eVTOL means no fossil fuels are burned to fly the aircraft. Therefore, the only emissions from the flight itself are from where the electricity is generated. Coupling the recharging with renewable energy could see this as a completely zero emissions flight.
How will one fly the Joby Aviation aircraft?
Recently, Simple Flying got to test out a virtual reality (VR) headset and take Joby’s proposed aircraft on a simulated flight. Unlike normal tilt-rotors, the Joby rotors rotate automatically. All you have to do is add thrust with the throttle and use a yoke to control the aircraft. The simulated aircraft was easy to control and put precisely where desired as the onboard computers calculated the control services’ responses to pilot inputs.
Furthermore, Aviation International News editor-in-chief Matt Thurber describes what it was like to fly the Joby electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft simulator at the company’s Washington, D.C. office. Thurber has flown helicopters for real and gave a glowing review. In FutureFlight.aero, Thurber wrote,
"In traditional aircraft, whether fixed-wing or rotary-wing, pilots can easily get themselves in trouble because they have to focus so much on control manipulation along with other critical tasks. Eliminating the massive effort needed for control manipulation and allowing pilots to focus on higher-order tasks is a significant accomplishment and one that will likely improve the flying environment and bring giant leaps in safety."
Joby and Skyports Infrastructure teaming up for vertiports of tomorrow
Graphic: Joby Aviation
In an October 6 statement, Joby Aviation and Skyports Infrastructure announced a partnership. The partnership will be to stand up to engage regulators and stakeholders in the benefits of eVTOL. Duncan Walker, CEO at Skyports, went on to say;
“Our aim is to develop vertiport infrastructure that delivers a ‘zero-wait’ check-in experience for customers, and we’re delighted to be working with Joby, one of the leading companies in this sector, to prepare for that future.”
He added that, over the next 18 months, the Living Lab will be showcased at locations throughout the US, giving industry and the public the opportunity to experience the future of aviation. This means showcasing all the way until April 2024, so stay tuned!
Joby and Uber teaming up to provide transformational mobility
In December 2020, Joby and Uber announced a collaboration to bring aerial and ground ridesharing together in one platform. Uber’s Uber Elevate helped lay the regulatory and software groundwork for eVTOL efforts. In the words of Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber in a statement;
"This deal allows us to deepen our partnership with Joby, the clear leader in this field, to accelerate the path to market for these technologies.
"We're excited for their transformational mobility solution to become available to the millions of customers who rely on our platform."
This excitement also comes as Uber sees itself as solving the problem of accessing transportation with the push of a button. Furthermore, Uber has committed to becoming a fully electric, zero-emission platform by 2040. Using Joby Aviation's zero-emission aircraft is a means to this end.
Joby Aviation has a Part 135 certificate
Joby Aviation has a Part 135 Air Carrier Certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), allowing Joby to begin on-demand commercial air taxi operations. However, Joby Aviation still needs a Type Certificate and Production Certificate from the FAA to provide eVTOL services – and both certificates require more flight tests.
Nonetheless, as Bonny Simi, Head of Air Operations and People at Joby, and one of the Company’s FAA-approved pilots, stated as to the certificate’s importance:
“The procedures we’ve prepared lay a foundation for our future eVTOL operations. Over the coming months, we will use our Part 135 certificate to exercise the operations and customer technology platforms that will underpin our multi-modal ridesharing service, while also refining our procedures to ensure seamless journeys for our customers."
Conclusion
Photo: Joby Aviation
Joby Aviation is just one eVTOL company, but as the company progresses forward – rest assured this will not be going back to the days of Katherine Stinson, Amelia Earhart, or other aviation pioneers you may have read about here flying by touch and feel. Rather, the zero-emission eVTOL is being thoroughly tested for maximum safety with many credible partners before the public gets a ride.
Will you fly with Joby Aviation once the opportunity arises? Let us know in the comments.
Sources: Bloomberg Technology; FutureFlight.aero