The Edge of Actualization

Joby Aviation, the Toyota-backed designer and builder of electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft, announced on 06 July 2023 that it has submitted the entirety of its certification plan to the Federal Aviation Administration, thereby occasioning the imminent completion of the third of the five stages upon which FAA certification of new aircraft types is predicated.

Dubbed Compliance Planning, the third stage of the FAA’s type certification protocol calls for the OEM of the aircraft for which certification is sought to specify the tests, analyses, and reports by which it intends to demonstrate its design’s compliance with applicable regulations as defined in Requirements Definition, the antecedent certification stage.

In February 2023, Joby became the first eVTOL maker to complete the Requirements Definition stage of the FAA’s certification process. Previously, and somewhat predictably, the company, in December 2022, earned the distinction of being the first eVTOL concern to complete stage one, Conceptual Design, of the FAA’s approbation convention and have its Certification Basis published in the U.S. Federal Register.

FAA Order 8110.4 lists the five phases of aircraft type certification thus: Conceptual Design, Requirements Definition, Compliance Planning, Implementation, and Post-Certification.

Joby head of aircraft OEM Didier Papadopoulos stated: “Joby continues to lead the way on certifying eVTOL aircraft with the FAA, and today’s news is another step towards launching commercial service in 2025. We’re grateful for the FAA’s continued commitment to safely introducing next-generation aircraft into service.”

Joby’s stage-three submittals include some one-dozen Area-Specific Certification Plans (ASCP) germane to both the hardware and software facets of its inchoate eVTOL, to include the machine’s flight-controls, energy storage and distribution architecture, and propulsion system. In addition to submitting the whole of its ASCPs, Joby has provided the FAA detailed plans for its eVTOL’s cybersecurity and systems safety schemes.

Joby recently celebrated the commencement of activity along its pilot production line in Marina, California. The inaugural eVTOL built on the line was granted FAA Special Airworthiness Certification on 28 June. So certified, the aircraft may legally begin flight-testing.

Following the completion of initial in-air evaluations, Joby's eVTOL will be delivered to Edwards Air Force Base as part of the company’s $131-million contract with the U.S. Air Force’s Agility Prime program—an initiative the service launched in 2020 for purpose of experimenting, testing, and generally hastening the development of eVTOL for cross commercial and military use.

Joby’s Department of Defense (DOD) contract now includes a partnership with the U.S. Marine Corps, which will test the suitability of Joby’s eVTOL to non-combat missions such as resupply, relocation of personnel, and emergency medical response.

Presuming development proceeds apace, Joby’s eVTOL will come to market a piloted, four-passenger commercial aircraft with a single-charge range of 130-nautical-miles and a maximum speed of 174-knots. The electrically-powered, ostensibly zero-emission machine is designed to be one-hundred-times quieter than a conventional helicopter during takeoff and landing.

FMI: www.jobyaviation.com