Created Wednesday 10 February 2021
See also: Aircraft
Joby Aviation has been cleared by the FAA to start up commercial “air-taxi” operations. But don't except to hail a flying ride tomorrow.
Lauren Leffer - 26 May 2022 2:15PM
Joby Aviation announced today that it has received the first of three required approvals from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This new clearance would allow the company to operate its proposed, on-demand air taxi service commercially.
However, before that theoretical possibility materializes into 6-propellor, electric aircrafts regularly scooping you up from the street, Joby has a few more big regulatory hoops to jump through.
https://gizmodo.com/joby-aviation-air-taxi-flying-ride-share-faa-evtol-1848980811
Rebecca Bellan - 5:00 AM PDT August 10, 2022
The United States Department of Defense is deepening its relationship with electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft company Joby Aviation.
Joby said Wednesday that it is expanding its existing contract with the U.S. Air Force’s Agility Prime program, which is an initiative the Air Force launched in April 2020 to test, experiment and generally accelerate the development of eVTOL for cross commercial and military use.
Joby’s DoD contract will now include defense partnerships with the U.S. Marine Corps, which will test Joby’s eVTOLs in non-combat use cases like resupply, relocation of personnel and emergency medical response, according to Joby executive chairman Paul Sciarra.
Aria Alamalhodaei - 13 November 2023
Joby Aviation and Volocopter gave the public a vivid glimpse of what the future of aviation might look like this weekend, with both companies performing brief demonstration flights of their electric aircraft in New York City.
The demonstration flights were conducted during a press conference on Sunday, during which New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced that the city would electrify two of the three heliports located in Manhattan — Downtown Manhattan Heliport and East 34th Street. (The third heliport is privately owned.) Beta Technologies, which is also developing an electric aircraft, showed off its interoperable aircraft charging technology at the event.
The move is a huge win for so-called “electric vertical take-off and landing” (eVTOL) developers, who will likely need hefty public investment in order to get their commercial air taxi service off the ground by the middle of the decade. Some of this investment has already started to materialize: in September, Joby announced that it would site its new aircraft factory in Dayton, Ohio, in a deal sweetened by upwards of $325 million in state incentives and benefits.
https://techcrunch.com/2023/11/13/joby-volocopter-fly-electric-air-taxis-over-new-york-city/
The six-rotor aircraft passed a cool milestone, but we’re still waiting to see if these sky Ubers ever actually lift off commercially.
Isaac Schultz - April 30, 2025
The aspiring air taxi company Joby Aviation just completed a complicated in-air maneuver that puts the company’s futuristic-looking aircraft on the path toward Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) flight testing.
Joby successfully flew one of its six-rotor aircraft from vertical hover to horizontal cruise flight and back again with a pilot onboard, showcasing the aircraft’s versatility in the air—a key value proposition of Joby’s sleek, electrically powered design.
The test flight took place on April 22 at the company’s facility in Marina, California, and was piloted by James “Buddy” Denham, Joby’s chief test pilot. Denham is no stranger to envelope-pushing aircraft—he previously helped design flight control systems for the F-35B fighter jet.
But the recent aircraft, called N544JX, is designed to be an air taxi, not a fighter jet. Thus, it’s only designed to travel up to 200 miles per hour (322 kilometers per hour), carrying up to four passengers and producing less noise than a helicopter.
https://gizmodo.com/jobys-air-taxi-passes-biggest-test-yet-as-it-seeks-faa-approval-2000596205
Rebecca Bellan - 2:54 PM PDT October 24, 2024
Electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicle startup Joby Aviation has launched a public offering to sell up to $200 million of its shares of common stock, per a regulatory filing.
Joby said it will use the proceeds from the raise — together with its existing cash — to fund its certification and manufacturing efforts, prepare for commercial launch in 2025, and for general working capital.
The eVTOL firm added that it intends to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase an additional $30 million shares of its common stock.
Joby plans to launch air taxis for urban transportation next year in New York City and Los Angeles alongside partners Delta Air Lines and Uber, as well as in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The startup also has a $55 million contract with the Department of Defense.
Before Joby can launch, it will need to complete its type certification process to ensure the design of its aircraft meets required safety and airworthiness standards.
Rebecca Bellan - 5:12 PM PST February 17, 2022
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash of a Joby Aviation experimental aircraft on Wednesday in Jolon, California.
The incident involved a prototype that was being remotely piloted during flight testing at Joby’s test base in California, according to regulatory filings. During the early testing phase of aircraft, the Federal Aviation Administration often requires aircraft to be unmanned for safety reasons.
There were no injuries in the crash, and the test was conducted in an uninhabited area, the company reported.
Automaker bets big on startup while other promising eVTOL companies scrape around for funding
Laura Dobberstein - Tue 5 Nov 2024 00:29 UTC
Joby Aviation – backed by Japanese automotive giant Toyota – conducted Japan's first electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL) flight test over the weekend, edging closer to the reality of flying taxis.
“We are here today to celebrate Joby's successful exhibition flight earlier this week, their first time to fly the air taxi eVTOL outside the United States. The dream that Joby and Toyota have envisioned for air mobility is finally coming close to fruition,” claimed Toyota CTO Hiroki Nakajima, speaking from the event in Shizuoka, Japan.
He boasted that a flight to Shizuoka from Tokyo onboard Joby's air taxi eVTOL would take 25 minutes – compared to up to two hours in a road vehicle.
According to Joby founder and CEO JoeBen Bevirt, the air taxi aspirant has completed “a number of exhibition flights” over the course of a few days.
“Toyota has now invested in Joby on multiple occasions, but more importantly, they've stood next to us in our facilities. They've helped us design tools. They've advised us on the layout of our factories. They even provide parts that go in the aircraft,” extolled Bevirt of his startup's agreement with the Japanese automaker.
He claimed that Joby intends to start commercial passenger operations as soon as next year and is working with global partners in Japan that include Uber, Delta Air Lines, and ANA. Joby has already applied to the nation's civil aviation regulator, Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB), for certification.
https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/05/joby_toyota_air_taxi_flight/