Piloted Air Taxi Demo From Marina To Monterey In Controlled Airspace

Joby Aviation announced the completion of its first successful flight in controlled airspace from Marina Municipal Airport (OAR) to Monterey (MRY) in California. The piloted flight was performed in one of Joby’s all-electric demonstrator aircraft to showcase the aircraft’s ability to fly in the same airspace as conventional aircraft.

The pilot performed a vertical takeoff, transitioned to horizontal wing-borne flight, integrated into the controlled airspace at Monterey, and landed vertically. They claim that this was the first time a piloted eVTOL air taxi flew from one public airport to another in the U.S.

Joby said in a statement, ”The flight also successfully demonstrated the team’s ability to conduct mobile flight tests and deliver full ground support operations away from home base in Marina.”

The statement continued, “The achievement is a major step as part of Joby’s commercial market readiness, highlighting key capabilities across safety, operations, air traffic control, and certification progress. It’s a critical measure of the maturity of the Company’s path to commercialization, as the flights also demonstrated the type of real-world service Joby intends to offer to the public.”

The aircraft systems, pilot certification, and training were fully utilized and were compliant with typical air traffic control procedures. The company said this is an important step to demonstrate their ability to operate in shared airspace as one component leading to certification for commercial operations.

Didier Papadopoulos, President of Aircraft OEM at Joby said, “Successfully flying from Marina to Monterey showcased operations of our aircraft integrated in the broader transportation network and further validated its performance to ensure we’re prepared for service on day one.

For years, our flight testing has validated our aircraft’s capabilities, and we’ve done this across a wide range of environmental conditions. As part of the natural progression of our flight test program, it was time to venture further, and there was no better place to visit first than our neighbors in Monterey.”

FMI:  www.jobyaviation.com/