NASA, Joby Complete eVTOL Flight Tests

The NASA Advanced Air Mobility National (AAM) Campaign team has wrapped up two weeks of flight testing on Joby Aviation’s prototype electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. The tests, which were the first to be conducted by NASA using an eVTOL aircraft as part of the campaign, took place at Joby’s facility near Big Sur, California. Data collection included the use of NASA’s Mobile Acoustics Facility and an array of more than 50 pressure ground-plate microphones.

“NASA’s goal is to collect vehicle performance and acoustic data for use in modeling and simulation of future airspace concepts,” the agency said. “After the data is analyzed, the test results will also help identify gaps in current Federal Aviation Administration regulations and policies to help incorporate Advanced Air Mobility aircraft into the National Airspace System.”

During testing, the Joby eVTOL prototype flew a series of planned scenarios aimed at providing data on “how the vehicle moves, how the vehicle sounds, and how the vehicle communicates with controllers.” NASA says it plans to use similar scenarios for evaluating the readiness of future partners’ aircraft. Designed as an air taxi, the commercial version of Joby’s aircraft is expected to have a range of 150 miles, top speed of 200 MPH and be capable of carrying a pilot and four passengers.