![]()
Joby announced Wednesday that it has expanded its flight-testing program to include flying with a pilot on board the eVTOL. This is a major step forward in Joby's journey to commercialization.
Now, four members of the Joby team have piloted flights on the pre-production prototype aircraft. The pilots have conducted a series of initial tests which include free thrustborne hovers and forward transitions to semi-thrustborne flight. The testing was completed at the Pilot Production Facility in Marina, California. This latest round of testing complements the ongoing flight testing at Edwards Air Force Base, announced on Sept. 25, where both Joby and USAF pilots are testing to demonstrate the eVTOL's capabilities in realistic operating scenarios.
Most of Joby's testing has been completed remotely from a ground control station by using modern communications technology and software. The remote testing allowed Joby to generate a large amount of data on the performance of the aircraft through a variety of flight conditions. The pilot-on-board campaign was led by the Joby Chief Test Pilot, James "Buddy" Denham. The campaign was designed to collect information on the aircraft's handling qualities and pilot control interfaces. This supports the development of the aircraft and lays the foundation for upcoming "for credit" testing, as a part of the ongoing certification program with the FAA.RELATED STORIES:Joby delivers first eVTOL to USAF baseJoby to build first scaled manufacturing facility in OhioJoby receives FAA approval on Certification Plans for battery, electrical system
On Sept. 6 Joby announced the FAA had approved Certification Plans for the Energy Storage and Distribution System onboard the Joby aircraft, which includes the batteries, high-voltage power distribution and associated electrical wiring. With the approval, Joby had over two-thirds of its Certification Plants accepted and was on track to launch its commercial air taxi service in 2025. On Sept. 18 Joby announced plans to build its first scaled aircraft production facility in the birthplace of aviation in Dayton, Ohio. Joby planned to begin hiring in the coming months, with early roles focusing on the build-out of the facility and machining of parts which will be initially incorporated into Joby's California low-volume production line. Construction is expected to begin in 2024 and finish in 2025 and existing buildings will be used to begin near-term operations.
During the recent testing, Joby Pilots monitored the ease of conducting multiple tasks and maneuvers that pilots will be required to perform during normal operations. This included vertical takeoffs, accelerating and transitioning to forward flight, runway centerline tracking and decelerating to a vertical landing on a representative landing pad. The evaluation of the Mission Task Elements will support the future certification of the Joby eVTOL and the company's continued work with the Department of Defense.
Chief Test Pilot Denham joined Joby in 2019 after he retired from the Naval Air Systems Command, where he was an Esteemed Technical Fellow working on the research, development, testing and evaluation of advanced flight controls and flight dynamics for a range of aircraft. Denham led the research and development of the Unified Control Concept, which is a joint U.S. and UK project that successfully integrated into the F-35B STOVL aircraft. He initiated a new flight control concept for aircraft carrier landings, known as Precision Landing Modes, which drastically increased touchdown precision, lowered pilot workload and increased safety for carrier landings on F/A-18E/F/G and F-35-C aircraft. His experience in the various advanced programs has been monumental in the development of Joby aircraft flight controls.
"Having helped design and test flight controls for a wide variety of aircraft, including all three variants of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, nothing compares to the simplicity and grace of the Joby aircraft," Denham said. "After completing more than 400 vertical take-offs and landings from the ground, it is a privilege to sit in the cockpit of our aircraft and experience first-hand the ease and intuitive nature of the design that the Joby team has developed."