Joby Aviation, Inc., a company developing electric air taxis for commercial passenger service, today announced it has become the first developer of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft to complete the third of five stages of the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) type certification process.
During the third stage of the process, Joby submitted certification plans that cover all of the aircraft’s structural, mechanical, and electrical systems, as well as the Company’s intended certification approach to cybersecurity, human factors, and noise.
These certification plans, which detail the tests and analyses that Joby will use to certify every aspect of its aircraft for commercial use, have now all been reviewed and accepted by the FAA, laying the groundwork for Joby to submit test plans and begin for-credit testing across every area of the Company’s aircraft program.
JoeBen Bevirt, Founder and CEO of Joby, commented: “Joby continues to lead the industry towards bringing electric air taxis to the commercial market. Our certification and engineering teams are best-in-class and, working closely with the FAA, continue to support U.S. leadership in this new area of aviation.”
Joby is now fully focused on the fourth stage of the certification process, where the Company will complete tests and analysis for FAA credit covering every component and system on the Joby aircraft – as well as the entire aircraft itself.
“With all of our certification plans accepted by the FAA, we are now completely focused on the execution phase of the certification process. We have a clear path to certifying every aspect of our aircraft, and the team is full steam ahead on executing against that path as we continue to lead the industry to commercialization,” said Didier Papadopoulos, President of Aircraft OEM at Joby.
In the fourth quarter of 2023, Joby completed 30 for-credit tests covering a number of flight electronics units as well as structural materials. The testing methods and processes validated through these tests lay the foundation for the Company’s continued expansion of FAA for-credit testing.
Joby also recently received its Part 145 Repair Station Certificate from the FAA, allowing the Company to perform select maintenance activities on aircraft and marking another key step on the path to commercializing Joby’s electric air taxi service.
Joby’s electric air taxi is designed to carry a pilot and four passengers at speeds of up to 200 mph, offering high-speed mobility with a fraction of the noise produced by helicopters and zero operating emissions.