Joby Aviation reaches dual FAA and USAF milestones

The first pre-production prototype generated 65TB of test data in 2021, flying over 5,300 miles, including what is believed to be the longest flight of an eVTOL aircraft to date, at 154.6 miles on a single charge.

Joby said the second aircraft will ‘significantly accelerate’ its capacity for flight testing in 2022, further supporting company ambitions to certify its aircraft with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in time to launch commercial operations in 2024.

The aircraft is expected to begin flying later this month and will be put into service as part of Joby’s Agility Prime contract with the US Air Force, which is an initiative to accelerate the development of prototype eVTOL aircraft through funding for early flight testing and experimentation.

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In a statement, JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby, said: “Our 2021 flight test program delivered a wealth of information and experience to support our program. With two aircraft flying at the same time, we’ll be able to increase the speed of our learnings as planned, while continuing to fulfil the requirements of our Agility Prime contract.