MARINA — Joby Aviation recently announced it has entered the final phase of certification for its electric air taxi after conducting its first Federal Aviation Administration testing under Type Inspection Authorization. The company expects to start Type Inspection Authorization flight testing in 2025 with its first FAA-conforming aircraft currently being built in Marina.
Joby is developing electric air taxis, designed to carry a pilot and four passengers, for commercial passenger service. The air taxis can reach speeds up to 200 mph, offering high-speed mobility with a fraction of the noise produced by helicopters and zero operating emissions.
The testing involved pilots from the Federal Aviation Administration evaluating human factors elements of flight safety using an FAA-conforming flight deck in a Joby simulator in Marina.
Type Inspection Authorization testing is considered the final phase of the type certification process, which paves the way for an aircraft to begin commercial passenger operations, according to Joby. This phase involves FAA test pilots conducting testing to validate an aircraft’s performance and safety in accordance with previously approved certification test plans.
“This milestone demonstrates Joby’s continued industry leadership and is a reflection of the maturity of our test program and the rigorous company testing we’ve already completed,” said Joby Aviation Founder and CEO JoeBen Bevirt in a press release.
“As well as continuing the for-credit testing of components, aerostructures and systems that is already underway, we are targeting the start of Type Inspection Authorization flight testing in 2025 with our first FAA-conforming aircraft, which is currently being built at our facility in Marina, California.”
Joby Aviation has been doing business in Marina for about the past seven years, where it launched production of its aircraft at its Pilot Production Plant with the first aircraft rolling off the line in June 2023.
The Type Inspection Authorization tests were conducted according to a set of criteria outlined in an FAA-approved human factors certification test plan and measured pilot workload under various expected flight conditions, physical ergonomics of the flight deck, as well as other human factors aspects of aircraft safety. Four FAA test pilots completed three days of Type Inspection Authorization testing during the engagement.
Earlier this month, Joby Aviation successfully completed static load testing of the tail structure, marking the first time the company has tested a major aerostructure of its aircraft for-credit with FAA representatives present, said the company. The tests took place in Santa Cruz as part of a rigorous testing campaign covering all of the structures, components and systems on the aircraft, producing data that is required for FAA type certification of the aircraft.
During the static load tests, Joby engineers applied loads to the aircraft’s tail structure that far exceed the maximum forces the structure is expected to experience during flight. The FAA-conforming tail structure used in the test, along with the test procedure, instrumentation and applied loads, are outlined in Joby’s certification documents, which have been approved by the FAA as part of the certification process.
Joby Aviation has offices and workshops and is headquartered in Santa Cruz, as well as facilities in San Carlos, Washington, D.C., and Munich, Germany. In September 2023, Joby chose Dayton, Ohio, as the site for its new manufacturing plant.
Joby is also developing a world-class manufacturing facility in Marina, in addition to its integrated test lab and flight-testing capabilities, and where the first of its aircraft rolled off its Pilot Production Plant line in 2023.
In April of this year, Joby broke ground on its new 220,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Marina, expecting to begin operations in 2025. The second production prototype aircraft to roll off the company’s pilot production line was the backdrop for the ground-breaking ceremony.
The company has said the expansion will more than double the total footprint Joby Aviation has at the Marina Airport and will enable the company to deliver 25 aircraft a year.