Joby Aviation, Inc., an electric air taxi manufacturer, has completed its pre-production flight test program. The company is now one step closer to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification, and its next steps will be to test production prototypes for credit flight testing.
In September 2023, Joby revealed plans to construct a facility at the Dayton International Airport. This facility is expected to produce up to 500 aircraft per year and support up to 2,000 jobs. The company has been flying full-scale pre-production prototype aircraft for over four years. To date, Joby’s two pre-production aircraft have completed more than 1,500 flights, covering over 33,000 miles, including more than 100 flights with a pilot.
Joby’s air taxi is designed to carry a pilot and four passengers at speeds of up to 200 mph, with minimal noise.
JoeBen Bevirt, founder and chief executive of Joby, stated, “Over the course of this test program, our team has shown the world how real electric air taxis are, with tens of thousands of miles flown using today’s battery technology. Our pre-production aircraft were the second full-scale generation of Joby’s design, and their performance met or exceeded our predictions throughout the program, successfully achieving our targets for maximum range, speed, and a revolutionary acoustic footprint.”
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