Joby Aviation Gets Certified for Second Air Taxi Prototype

Joby Aviation Inc. revealed in a press release that it earned FAA Special Airworthiness Certification and U.S. Air Force Airworthiness Approval for a second pre-production prototype aircraft in December 2021. This is the second aircraft from the company founded in California in 2009 that specializes in manufacturing all-electric aircraft for commercial passenger service and is expected to accelerate the capacity for flight testing in 2022. Joby had scheduled the second pre-production prototype to begin flying in January and expects it to be put into service with the U.S. Air Force as part of Joby’s Agility Prime contract with the armed forces air service branch. With zero operating emissions, the aircraft can hold four passengers and a pilot. It possesses a maximum range of 150 miles and can travel at a top speed of 200 miles per hour. The first pre-production prototype saw 65 terabytes of test data last year. It flew more than 5,300 miles and its 154.6 miles on a single charge is considered the longest flight of an electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft to date.