Joby demonstrates piloted eVTOL flight in FAA-controlled airspace

 

Joby Aviation’s (Santa Cruz, Calif., U.S.) electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft has successfully operated with other aircraft in FAA-controlled airspace through completion of its first flight between two U.S. airports, Marina (OAR) and Monterey (MRY), California. The achievement builds on Joby’s momentum toward commercial market readiness, acting as a critical measure of the company’s product maturity, as well as demonstrating the type of real-world service Joby intends to offer to the public. 

Joby’s flight time from OAR to MRY was approximately 12 minutes over 10 nautical miles, including 5 minutes in a hold pattern at MRY for air traffic spacing. The piloted flight included vertical takeoff, transition to wingborne flight, integration into the controlled airspace around MRY and vertical landing. The milestone marks the first time a piloted Joby eVTOL air taxi has flown from one public airport to another. The flight also successfully demonstrated the team’s ability to conduct mobile flight tests and deliver full ground support operations away from home base in Marina.

“For years, our flight testing has validated our aircraft’s capabilities, and we’ve done this across a wide range of environmental conditions,” notes Didier Papadopoulos, president of aircraft OEM at Joby. “As part of the natural progression of our flight test program, it was time to venture further.”

These critical flight tests also provided developmental data related to the human factors of operating the aircraft at a controlled airport and in the enroute national airspace. In particular, Joby’s ability to integrate into controlled airspace was demonstrated when its aircraft successfully sequenced with other aircraft at Monterey Airport, including a holding pattern to accommodate another arriving airliner. This is also an important step in the company’s certification efforts, as the FAA requires aircraft to demonstrate they can operate in shared airspace by flying between multiple airports.

Video of the flight demonstration can be viewed below.