Joby Aviation is now flying its first production conforming test aircraft, marking a major milestone in the certification process. FAA pilots are expected to begin flying this aircraft and others for credit toward commercial certification later this year. First Joby pilots are wringing out the first production models to detect any snags before the FAA pilots start flying them. “After focusing on ‘for credit’ testing at both the equipment and system levels, we’re now moving into the final phase of aircraft-level evaluations,” Didier Papadopoulos, Joby’s president of Aircraft OEM, said Friday. “This is evidence that our rigorous design and certification process is paying off, and we look forward to welcoming FAA pilots to Marina in due course.”
To get to this point, Joby had to build the eVTOL to standards set and supervised by FAA designated engineering representatives. Joby built the aircraft at its newly expanded facility in Marina, California, and it’s now building a 700,000-square-foot factory in Dayton, Ohio, which will eventually build 500 aircraft per year. Joby was among about a dozen manufacturers whose aircraft will take part in the eVTOL Integration Pilot Program (eIPP) program to test eVTOLs and electric aircraft in real-world environments starting later this year.
What I like about Joby is that it looks less like a science project and more like a real transportation effort. The FAA conforming test aircraft means progress, and the Uber tie helps show there may be an actual use case for airport links and short hops, not just demo rides and pretty videos.
Still, I have my doubts about how fast or how far this really goes once certification, and into day-to-day realities. But fair is fair, Joby looks like one of the more serious outfits in the bunch. Then there is the wake and downwash thing.
Let’s see which gets up and running with more sales first. The R66 TURBINETRUCK or one of these multi-rotor contraptions. They may look cool to some people but, so did swept ‘T’-tails on single engine aircraft. Helicopters may not look futuristic to many but, they are just what works.
https://news.lockheedmartin.com/2026-03-10-Sikorsky-Collaborates-with-Robinson-Helicopter-Company-to-Integrate-MATRIX-TM-Autonomy-into-Robinson-R66-TURBINETRUCK#assets_all
https://www.robinsonheli.com/unmanned/uas/r66-turbinetruck