On June 24, the firm’s “first-of-its-kind” hydrogen-electric, vertical takeoff and landing (hVTOL) demonstrator completed a 532 sm (462 nm) flight—about the distance between San Francisco and San Diego—above Marina, California, home to the Joby’s test facility and pilot production line. The aircraft landed with more than 10 percent of its hydrogen fuel remaining, with water the only byproduct of the flight.

Joby believes the test, which included a vertical take off and landing, represented the first forward flight for a liquid hydrogen-powered eVTOL aircraft. The company said hydrogen is a key piece of its future plans.

“We’re excited to now be building a technology stack that could redefine regional travel using hydrogen-electric aircraft,” said JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby. “Imagine being able to fly from San Francisco to San Diego, Boston to Baltimore, or Nashville to New Orleans, without the need to go to an airport and with no emissions except water. That world is closer than ever.”

The development signals a shift in Joby’s stated business philosophy, which before Thursday was centered around flying urban air mobility (UAM) routes within cities.

In a blog post penned by Bevirt and Raffaele Russo, business manager for new technologies at Joby, the company’s top brass said regional air mobility (RAM) is also on the agenda. The firm has alluded to a regional service before, but Thursday’s developments appear to confirm that one is in the works.

“Although the specific energy of batteries is improving, their weight will continue to limit the application of electric aircraft to short-distance travel,” the blog post reads. “To serve regional markets, we plan to use hydrogen to increase the potential range and payload of electric aircraft.”

Joby’s hydrogen-electric program builds on the technology developed by its subsidiary H2FLY, acquired in secret in 2021.

The manufacturer built the hydrogen-electric demonstrator by modifying one of its battery-electric aircraft, which has already flown more than 25,000 miles, with a hydrogen fuel tank capable of storing up to 40 kilograms of liquid, supercooled hydrogen. It includes a smaller battery cell, which provides extra power during takeoff and landing.

The design employs the same airframe and overall architecture as its battery-electric counterpart. It will use the same takeoff and landing sites and operations team, as well as ElevateOS—a proprietary, Uber-like software suite unveiled in June.

ElevateOS comprises a pilot app, rider app, operations suite, and matching system that connects riders with aircraft based on departure time, arrival time, and location. It includes an integration with the Uber app, allowing Uber customers to book Joby flights and vice versa.

The hydrogen-powered model also includes the H2F-175 hydrogen fuel cell, built by H2FLY, which produces electricity and heat with water as the sole byproduct. The fuel cell powers the aircraft’s six electric motors, which feed into tilting propellers that assist in both hover and forward flight, and charges the batteries while they are deactivated in cruise mode.

The technology was deployed about one year ago during a milestone H2FLY flight, which Joby claims was the first crewed flight of a hydrogen-electric aircraft with a runway takeoff.

According to Joby’s estimate, the hydrogen-electric model will have a greater payload than a battery-electric design or an aircraft using an equivalent amount of jet fuel.

Bevirt is also bullish on hydrogen production, pointing to the U.S. Department of Energy’s $7 billion investment in clean “hydrogen hubs.” He noted that hydrogen can be produced using a variety of low- or zero-emission sources such as wind or water power, which could help the aviation industry meet commitments to eliminate emissions by 2050.

“We recognize that broadly commercializing hydrogen will require doing the hard miles on regulation and infrastructure, along with fuel storage and distribution, but we have demonstrated that regional hydrogen-electric flight is possible today,” Bevirt and Russo wrote in Thursday’s blog post.

Bevirt said the bulk of the work Joby has done to certify its flagship, battery-electric air taxi will carry over to commercializing a hydrogen-electric variant. The company’s hydrogen-electric activities are supported by Agility Prime, the vertical lift technology division of the U.S. Air Force innovation arm, AFWERX.

“Agility Prime has been very supportive of hydrogen-powered aircraft development and testing as it aligns with the program’s goals to advance transformative vertical lift technologies and broader Department of Defense operational energy goals of energy substitution and diversification, and energy demand reduction,” said Jacob Wilson, acting branch chief of Agility Prime.

Joby is also collaborating with AFWERX’s Autonomy Prime division, which, as the name implies, develops self-flying aircraft.

The company in June acquired autonomous flight company Xwing for an undisclosed fee and intends to build a self-flying version of its flagship air taxi in the future, using Xwing’s Superpilot software. U.S. competitor Wisk Aero and Chinese eVTOL manufacturer EHang are among the handful of firms looking to fly autonomous air taxis at launch.

Joby aims to launch commercial operations with its flagship battery-electric air taxi in 2025, in partnership with Delta Air Lines. New York and Los Angeles are slated as the company’s first U.S. markets.

The aircraft is designed for a pilot to fly as many as four passengers on trips up to 100 sm (87 nm), cruising at 200 mph (174 knots). In the U.S., Joby will operate the model itself.

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Joby on Thursday introduced its Elevate Operating Software (ElevateOS), a suite of platforms designed to help the company support on-demand air taxi operations the same way Uber and Lyft manage ground-based rideshare services. According to the company, ElevateOS is approved for company use under the FAA Part 135 permissions it was awarded in May 2022.

The firm says the system represents a key piece of what it has termed its “preflight checklist”— a set of objectives it aims to complete before launching a commercial U.S. service in 2025 with partner and investor Delta Air Lines. Company executives talked at length about the blueprint during a presentation Thursday afternoon.

ElevateOS comprises three main applications—a core operations system that manages landing pad access, maintenance scheduling, and more, pilot app, and mobile-first rider app. A fourth component, which Joby describes as “an intelligent matching engine,” connects passengers to aircraft and takeoff and landing sites, akin to existing ride-hailing services.

Within the pilot app are tools that enable pre and postflight checks, ensure pilots are getting enough rest, and provide information on aircraft weight and balance through an integration with the rider app. The latter platform is intended to function much like the Uber app for riders, with which ElevateOS will actually have an integration at launch. Joby riders will be able to book on the Uber platform and vice versa.

“The air taxi service we plan to deliver isn’t like any sort of air travel that’s existed before,” said Eric Allison, the former head of Uber air taxi arm Elevate who now serves as chief product officer for Joby. The manufacturer acquired Uber Elevate in 2021. Allison also previously served as CEO of Zee.Aero—which would eventually become Boeing’s air taxi arm, Wisk Aero—for eight years.

“We expect travelers to book on-demand and to be boarding an aircraft just minutes later, much like the experience of using ground-based ridesharing today,” Allison added. “That required us to totally rethink the software and the operations of these aircraft.”

Elevate, which ran the short-lived Uber Copter service, failed, Allison said, because the software platform required for such a service did not yet exist. He and others who migrated to Joby developed ElevateOS from the ground up with the goal of bringing an on-demand service to the aerial realm, where scheduled flights are king.

According to Allison, the four key components of ElevateOS work in concert, communicating between one another to ensure operators, pilots, and other team members are on the same page. Each portion was built on the same platform in the same language, a strategy he compared to Amazon’s launch of Prime delivery services.

Leveraging the FAA Part 135 permissions it was awarded in May 2022, Joby already has put ElevateOS through two years of real-world testing.

Using a Cirrus SR22, which like its flagship air taxi is designed for a pilot to fly as many as four passengers, the company has been running an internal shuttle service for its team members through an early version of the rider app. Employees select a desired time, origin, and destination and are autonomously matched with other riders.

The app already handles payments for whole-aircraft flights, which has allowed Joby to offer charter services to some external customers as well. Additionally, the firm says it has integrated both the pilot and rider app with its backend software. By October of last year, all three main components were working in tandem and simulating real-world operations.

Now, Joby has the FAA’s sign-off to deploy these tools for commercial service when the time comes. The firm intends to use ElevateOS in its own operations, but it will also offer it to certain customers who purchase aircraft as part of a wider service package.

The Preflight Checklist

Joby on Thursday updated investors on its progress toward a commercial launch in a presentation that revealed the company’s completed and pending objectives. The so-called preflight checklist covers the company’s service, safety procedures, pilots, operating systems, and maintenance.

Much of the company’s certification work with the FAA will transfer to those international markets, Joby president of operations Bonny Simi said, through bilateral agreements with other regulators. The firm intends to offer pilot training, maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO), safety systems, and other services wherever it flies, bundling some of these into an offering for customers as well.

Having earlier this year received the first set of FAA final airworthiness criteria for an eVTOL design and acquired autonomous flight developer Xwing, Joby is making steady progress on the development of its aircraft itself. The next step will be adding it to the company’s Part 135 certificate, a process Simi said has already begun.

Understanding that it cannot simply drop its air taxi into the existing airspace system and expect success, Joby is now in the process of building a new ecosystem for its flagship design.

ElevateOS checks several boxes. But the biggest area of need, according to the preflight checklist, is pilots. Currently, no FAA-certified eVTOL, or powered-lift, pilots exist. The agency is in the process of developing training and certification requirements for these pilots, which Joby is using to design an internal training course.

The company aims to develop an FAA-approved program comprising Part 141 pilot school certification, Part 142 training organization approval, and Level 3 full flight simulators qualified under Part 60.

It says it has already developed an aircraft-specific course to train qualified commercial pilots to fly its air taxi. The program was borne out of a partnership with Canadian flight simulator developer CAE, which in 2022 agreed to build immersive eVTOL training simulators for Joby. 

These full-motion, six-axis simulators, capable of mimicking the eVTOL flight envelope, will be used in training, a requirement for companies building a single-pilot air taxi. Joby says it has already begun the multiyear development and approval process, performing hundreds of tests, comparing simulator and aircraft data, and working closely with the FAA. It believes it is on track to certify the device before its U.S. launch. A modified version of the simulator will be used to train pilots in the United Arab Emirates.

According to Joby, 10 Air Force pilots have now flown the aircraft through a full transition from hover to forward flight. It expects to be able to train a commercial airline pilot to fly the air taxi in about six weeks. In the early years of operations, the aircraft will likely be staffed by pilots with experience flying for airlines or the military, and who would prefer to live and work in the same region.

Already, the company has begun private pilot training and ground school to help new pilots to obtain an initial rating, which could then be used to add powered-lift permissions. It says it is on the way to certifying a Part 141 training academy. Additionally, should Joby secure Part 142 approval, it could sell training as a service to customers.

On the maintenance side, Joby is using its recently acquired FAA Part 145 certificate to design a comprehensive MRO network for itself and its customers. In designing its aircraft with systems such as direct drive motors, the company’s goal is to reduce maintenance costs and increase aircraft availability compared to helicopters. It intends to use predictive maintenance planning, tracking the wear and tear of components to preempt any issues that would sideline the aircraft.

The company is in the process of establishing MRO services in Dubai and has already completed some MRO work in advance of operations. The goal is to one day add that capability to its entire fleet to keep operations around the globe humming. A $1 million FAA grant, intended to help Joby design one of the first training programs for eVTOL mechanics, will aid those efforts.

Another dimension Joby is concerned with is safety, which Allison called “the North Star of everything we do.”

In January, the FAA announced that a Part 5-approved Safety Management System (SMS), previously a voluntary measure, would be required for all Part 135 air operators. Simi described the SMS as an organization-wide approach to managing risk. Joby in 2023 became the first eVTOL company to get an SMS approved by the FAA and is in the process of implementing it across all operations, from manufacturing to training to MRO. It is also working to incorporate an SMS for original equipment manufacturers, another new requirement.

Joby expects to achieve type certification in the coming months prior to a planned launch in New York and Los Angeles with partners Delta and Uber, which according to Simi is the first phase of the company’s commercial rollout. Following that, it will ramp up to missions with the U.S. Department of Defense and expand to overseas markets such as the UAE, where it has a six-year agreement to operate an air taxi service in Dubai. It also plans to sell aircraft to Mukamalah, the aviation arm of Saudi Aramco.

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Joby on Tuesday announced it acquired the autonomy division of Xwing, the developer of autonomous gate-to-gate flight software Superpilot, as it looks ahead to a transition to self-flying air taxi services. The manufacturer plans to initially operate the aircraft with onboard pilots and has a partnership with Delta Air Lines to launch commercial service as early as next year, beginning in New York and Los Angeles.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. But the acquisition was paid for with Joby shares and covers “all of Xwing’s existing automation and autonomy technology activities,” the company said.

“The aircraft we are certifying will have a fully qualified pilot on board,” said JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby, “but we recognize that a future generation of autonomous aircraft will play an important part in unlocking our vision of making clean and affordable aerial mobility as accessible as possible.”

Like competitors Wisk Aero, the eVTOL subsidiary of Boeing, and Archer Aviation—which in August agreed to make Wisk the exclusive provider of autonomous systems for a future variant of its flagship air taxi—Joby evidently believes autonomy will be key to scaling up its operations.

The manufacturer began exploring pilotless flight in 2021 with the acquisition of radar developer Inras, whose technology it said it would use to develop an onboard sensing and navigation system.

One problem the eVTOL industry faces is a lack of powered-lift pilots, for which the FAA is working to develop a training and certification pathway. In the short term, autonomy could take on more flight functions, akin to autopilot technology on commercial airliners, to allow operations with smaller crews. Further out, it could allow Joby to remove the pilot from its aircraft entirely.

Wisk argues that the technology will further make operations safer and more affordable for passengers. That’s important, because eVTOL manufacturers, including Joby and Archer, claim their air taxi services will be cost-competitive with ground-based rideshare options such as Uber and Lyft.

Additionally, Joby said Xwing’s Superpilot will help it fulfill obligations for the U.S. Department of Defense, through which it is under contract with AFWERX, the innovation arm of the U.S. Air Force. The manufacturer has so far committed to four deliveries out of a total of nine air taxi orders—two each to Edwards Air Force Base in California and MacDill Air Force Base in Florida—delivering one to Edwards.

Joby in March estimated that the agreement has a total contract value of $163 million but on Tuesday said Xwing’s technology gives it room for growth.

“Autonomous systems are increasingly prolific in the private sector and bring potentially game-changing advantages to the Air Force as well,” said Colonel Elliott Leigh, director of AFWERX and chief commercialization officer for the Air Force. “We created Autonomy Prime to keep up with this shift and to stay engaged as a partner while this technology evolves so that we can adapt and evolve along with the private sector, maintaining our competitive advantage.”

Rather than develop autonomous software in-house, as it does for most of its aircraft’s components and systems, Joby will instead adopt the technology Xwing has been building since its founding in 2016.

A platform-agnostic system, Superpilot uses AI and machine learning algorithms to automate a range of tasks such as vision system processing, detect and avoid, decision making, and mission management, including route planning and live updates.

The system integrates into type-certified aircraft and is designed to change the role and location of the pilot, enabling remote supervision from a ground control station within the existing air traffic control system. However, Xwing on its website says the technology “is applicable to and will improve safety in both piloted and autonomous aircraft.”

Xwing began flying Superpilot-equipped aircraft in 2020 and has since completed more than 250 autonomous flights and 500 autolandings using a modified Cessna 208B Grand Caravan. Since 2021, it has operated a Part 135 air carrier business, flying 400 feeder cargo flights per week for UPS. Through a nonexclusive agreement with Cessna manufacturer Textron Aviation, the company intends to retrofit more small cargo aircraft, beginning with the Grand Caravan.

Last year, Superpilot became the first standard category large uncrewed aerial system (UAS) to receive an official FAA project designation, initiating the process for it to be approved for commercial cargo operations in U.S. national airspace. Under a three-year contract with NASA, Xwing is allowing researchers to study the technology and develop a safety management system (SMS) to integrate routine, pilotless flights alongside conventional aircraft.

In May 2023, the Air Force committed to exploring Superpilot for defense applications through a 21-month flight trial awarded by AFWERX. It must like what it’s seen so far, because less than a year into the partnership, it granted military airworthiness to Xwing’s modified Cessna, allowing it to begin performing cargo missions in unrestricted airspace. In February, the aircraft completed the Air Force’s first autonomous logistics mission.

Joby on Tuesday said Xwing engineers, researchers and technologists will join the manufacturer to seek out new technology development partnerships with the DOD. The department is eyeing autonomous cargo aircraft as a way to take human pilots out of potentially dangerous scenarios.

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The manufacturer on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Mukamalah Aviation—a subsidiary of state-owned oil and gas company Saudi Aramco that according to Joby operates the world’s largest fleet of corporate aircraft—to introduce its eVTOL air taxi in the country.

Mukamalah serves 13 airports across Saudi Arabia with multiple fleets comprising a total of 55 aircraft. The operator manages nine of these locations in addition to more than 300 onshore and offshore helipads.

JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby, and Captain Khalid Al Natour, CEO of Mukamalah, signed the agreement, which may culminate in the direct sale of Joby aircraft to Mukamalah, at the Future Aviation Forum in Riyadh.

The MOU builds on Joby’s agreements with the leadership of Dubai and Abu Dhabi to fly in the neighboring United Arab Emirates—which is quickly becoming a hot spot for eVTOL activity—as early as 2025.

“Saudi Arabia presents a remarkable opportunity for our technology, and the scope and scale of Mukamalah’s operations make them a natural partner for us,” said Bevirt.

Joby’s flagship air taxi is designed for a pilot to fly as many as four passengers at up to 200 mph (174 knots), with a range of 100 sm (87 nm). Flights will largely be based out of vertiports installed at locations such as airports and hotels, generating a fraction of the noise produced by helicopters, the manufacturer says.

The company intends to operate its own aircraft in markets such as the U.S. and UAE, contrasting with competitors such as Archer Aviation. But Joby says the direct sale of aircraft to operating partners, such as Mukamalah, is part of its commercialization strategy.

The agreement will include Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) and other local aviation stakeholders “to expedite Joby’s entry into the Saudi Arabia market.”

“We are proud to be working together with Joby and Mukamalah on the regulatory framework necessary to support the introduction of eVTOL aircraft,” said a GACA spokesperson. “These initiatives will help the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia meet its climate goals and steer the nation towards a sustainable future.”

Joby first announced its plans to fly in the Middle East in February, signing a definitive agreement with Dubai’s Road and Transport Authority (RTA) to launch air taxi operations in the UAE as soon as 2025. 

The company said the partnership gives it “exclusive” rights to operate air taxis in the Emirate of Dubai for six years following the start of service. However, competitor Archer Aviation—which has its own plans for Dubai and the UAE—believes it will have no issue operating in the Emirate.

Joby expanded its plans for the UAE to Abu Dhabi in April, partnering with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) and other local stakeholders to establish its services nationwide. The company teased the possibility of air taxi routes connecting the nation’s two largest cities, offering 30-minute trips.

ADIO is also collaborating closely with Archer, EHang, and other eVTOL manufacturers eyeing service in the country, offering them financial incentives to localize manufacturing and other operations.

As Emirati leaders push to make the nation a leader in urban air mobility (UAM), it appears the Saudi government may have a similar goal.

The Arab Center Washington DC characterizes the relationship between the two countries as a “rift,” driven by a desire to become the dominant economic power in the region. Both nations rely heavily on their oil industries and have turned to tourism to diversify revenues.

Saudi Arabia made sustainability a pillar of its Vision 2030 plan to diversify the country’s oil-dependent economy. Saudi leaders hope to reach net-zero carbon emissions across all industries by 2060 and have already enacted regulations, such as around hydrogen production, to help get there.

“Over the past years, we have already invested in a more sustainable future, including taking steps in sustainable aviation fuel [SAF] testing, supporting the development of hydrogen solutions in the aviation ecosystem, and supporting the Kingdom’s green initiatives by delivering sustainable aviation solutions,” said Al Natour.

Earlier this year, The Helicopter and Jet Company, a Saudi state-owned commercial helicopter operator, partnered with Houston-based Bristow Group to explore the introduction of eVTOL aircraft in the country. Bristow has orders for as many as 50 such models from Vertical Aerospace and as many as 55 from Beta Technologies, as well as up to 50 Electra.aero hybrid-electric short takeoff and landing (eSTOL) aircraft.

German manufacturers Volocopter and Lilium are also eyeing eVTOL networks in Saudi Arabia. The former received an order for 10 VoloCity aircraft to be flown in the planned industrial, residential, and tourist zone of Neom, while the latter agreed to sell as many as 100 eVTOL jets to Saudi flag carrier Saudia.

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The company on Thursday said it is moving to the next phase of flight testing using production prototype aircraft, the first of which came off its pilot production line at Marina Municipal Airport (KOAR) in California in June. The company on Monday rolled out a second production prototype. Until now, Joby had only flown tests using two preproduction air taxi prototypes.

So far, the U.S. Air Force is the only Joby customer to operate a production prototype as airmen are deploying the manufacturer’s first model for logistics and other missions during joint testing at Edwards Air Force Base (KEDW) in California. Joby says its second prototype will soon join the first at Edwards and so far has committed to two further aircraft deliveries to MacDill Air Force Base (KMCF) in Tampa, Florida.

Now, though, the manufacturer is ramping up to perform its own production prototype testing ahead of for-credit evaluations with the FAA.

Joby in 2023 completed 30 for-credit tests of the air taxi’s structures and components. But successful for-credit testing of the entire aircraft would represent a key step toward the pinnacle of the eVTOL air taxi industry: type certification.

“Our preproduction aircraft were the second full-scale generation of Joby’s design, and their performance met or exceeded our predictions throughout the program, successfully achieving our targets for maximum range, speed, and a revolutionary acoustic footprint,” said JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby.

The manufacturer’s flagship air taxi is designed for a pilot to fly as many as four passengers on trips up to 100 sm (87 nm), cruising at 200 mph (174 knots). Unlike competitors such as Archer Aviation, Joby will operate the aircraft itself in partnership with Delta Air Lines.

The company is eyeing commercial urban air mobility (UAM) routes in and around large U.S. metro areas, such as New York and Los Angeles, starting in 2025. But that target will hinge on its success in for-credit evaluations.

Joby’s two preproduction aircraft together have flown more than 33,000 miles over the course of more than 1,500 test flights, 100 of which had a pilot on board.

These included the first electric air taxi exhibition flights in New York City in November, when the company’s second preproduction model flew from the Manhattan Downtown Heliport over the Hudson River. Another demonstration in 2021 included a 154.6 sm flight on a single charge.

“Over the past four years, we thoroughly tested and studied our aircraft in flight, from precision landing and outwash to human factors,” said James Denham, chief test pilot for Joby. “We often flew multiple flights per day, demonstrating our ability to fly in a wide variety of weather and operational conditions.”

Since October, the company has been flying preproduction prototypes with pilots on board. That month, four Air Force test pilots completed the eVTOL’s first crewed transition from hover to cruise flight. The crewed test program includes 31 flights over a span of two days, completed at the start of 2024 in partnership with the FAA.

Joby has also entrenched itself with NASA, working with the space agency to evaluate air taxi traffic and noise. The ability for eVTOL aircraft to fly alongside other aircraft at low volume is considered essential for UAM services, which are largely expected to take place over cities.

“Learnings from the flight test program have been invaluable to our certification program and to the broader development of regulatory frameworks around electric VTOL aircraft, validating the performance, safety, and acoustics of our design while providing insight into daily operations and maintenance,” said Bevirt.

Joby competitor Archer Aviation is also looking ahead to for-credit testing. It expects to begin those evaluations later this year following the production of three type-conforming air taxi models, which is already underway.

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This dream provoked a vision for JoeBen Bevirt—one he has singularly pursued ever since.

After finding his natural engineering mind on a track at the University of California-Davis, and a graduate degree in mechanical engineering at Stanford University, Bevirt founded a series of successful companies in the tech sector. He started Velocity11 in 1999, developing robotic systems for laboratory work. The first iterations of “Joby”—Joby Inc., which produced the Gorillapod, and Joby Energy, focused on aerial wind turbines—came into being prior to the main event, Joby Aviation, which he founded in 2009.

Joby Aviation launched to coalesce Bevirt’s vision of an all-electric vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft and the transportation system to support and deploy it. Now, as the company surpasses 1,400 employees and celebrates the reveal of its conforming production prototype, the vision sits on the cusp of being fully realized. FLYING talked with Bevirt to illuminate the source of that vision and where it will take Joby next.

FLYING Magazine (FM): So what was it that set off that spark for you when you were that young boy?

JoeBen Bevirt: (JB): I was born and raised far from civilization in a place called Last Chance. Our house was at the edge of a beautiful meadow with fruit trees and a garden nestled among the redwoods overlooking the Pacific Ocean. In the morning I would get a ride to school with one of my parents on their way to work. In the af- ternoon I would either go to a friend’s house and wait or I would take the city bus to the transit station and then take another bus up the coast. I would get off at the bot- tom of Swanton Road and then walk a mile up to Last Chance and then the 4 miles back from Last Chance to my home. It gave me a lot of time to dream about bet- ter ways [of] getting from [point] A to B. I loved where I lived, and I loved my school, but I wanted to be able to expediently get between them.

I imagined an aircraft could take off and land in the meadow. But it was also pretty quiet, and peaceful, and the idea of a really loud aircraft didn’t appeal to me. For me, it was a question of “how do I build an aircraft that is suitable for this serene, beautiful place but that I can take off and land vertically?”

FM: How did you first try to solve that problem?

JB: I inherited my uncle’s collection of model airplane parts including a whole bunch of little model engines—and they were horrifically loud. So, I thought, this is not the answer. They were really fun but really loud. [laughs] Then I started playing with remote-control car motors, and at this point in time, they were these little brushed motors and NiCad batteries, and I mounted props to them, and built many crazy contraptions. This was one of my first experiences with iterative engineering even before I knew what engineering was.

FM: You began working with electric motors, but it took time for them to reach a usable capacity, right?

JB: In 1993 when I was in college, my proficiency with engineering had improved, and I had the opportunity to work for a company doing pioneering work on vertical take off and landing aircraft. Unfortunately, they were horrifically loud. I became convinced that electric propulsion was the critical unlock to make VTOL aircraft part of daily life. NiCad batteries had gotten to 40 or 50 watt hours per kilogram, and there were rumors that the lithium-ion battery was going to move from the lab into production and that Sony was getting close with a cell specific energy of 70 watt hours per kilogram. But even 70 watt hours per kilogram didn’t feel sufficient for a useful endurance.

There were researchers at the DOE [Department of Energy] projecting that lithium ion had the potential to get us to 200 watt hours a kilogram in 20 years. Batteries had been improving by 6 percent a year since the late 1800s, and I figured that it was going to stay on that ramp. But I was 19 years old, and I was thinking, 6 percent a year—it’s going to take 20 years to get to a useful specific energy— that felt like an eternity, and so I put my dream of electric

flight on hold. At Stanford in 1998, I met a guy named JB Straubel who was fixated on building an electric car, and over the years I had the opportunity to experience a few exhilarating test drives in his prototypes. This gave me a front-row seat to the progress being made on batteries. By 2008 I had sourced batteries with a specific energy of 170 watt hours per kilogram and a specific power of more than 1 kilowatt per kilogram, which I believed was sufficient to build a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft with 100 miles of range. After a bit of design work and analysis, I founded Joby to bring electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft to life. Today we are certifying our aircraft with cells that are more than 280 watt hours per kilogram. And we’ve moved from the idea of making something for an enthusiast to something that could be a new mode of transportation.

FM: So, with that early introduction into electrical and mechanical engineering, it was pretty clear that was your passion. Were there any other directions you thought about going?

JB: No. I loved building things and creating things. But there were no engineers in my family. I remember in seventh grade, my math teacher said, “You’re gonna be an engineer,” and I said, “I don’t wanna drive trains!” and he’s like “No, no, no, no, no…my son’s studying to be an engineer, and I think that you’re going to be an engineer.” And he explained what an engineer was, and I’m like, “That’s it!” So I had my calling since I was really little, but I first had somebody put a name to it in seventh grade. From that point, I was on cruise control, so focused. In high school, I was also really into cycling, so I designed and built one of the world’s first full-suspension mountain bikes, and it was really fun to watch the cycling industry emerge. It was funny back then because all my friends would make fun of me for putting a suspension on a bike, and I said, “But it’s so much better!” And they thought I was weak, like your legs are supposed to be the shock ab- sorbers. But it’s fun to have watched that industry evolve.

FM: So, in graduate school, were there mentors or fellow students that you worked with on the vision?

JB: Right at the beginning of my sophomore year, I went to the dean of the engineering school and said, “You’re teaching computer-aided design wrong. And you’re do- ing a massive disservice to the students, and we have to fix it.” And he said, “‘OK, that’s amusing.” And so he picks up the phone, “Paul, I’ve got somebody for you. Can I send him over?” Click. I ride over to the research park, and I knock on the door, and it says Moller International. There was something that went off in my head, but it didn’t really click. And I walked inside, and there was a picture of this vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, and I’m like— wow! And so it was serendipity.

So I went and interned for Paul [Moller] for a quarter, and then I convinced him that I should create an internship program. I had four interns for the next quarter. And then I convinced him that we should expand and have like 12 interns, and this was with a team of like 40 engineers at the time—awesome engineers—and all of a sudden there were 12 interns and the engineers were looking at themselves wondering, “What just happened?” It was my first experience of leading a larger team. Moller had built a whole bunch of breakthrough vertical takeoff and landing aircraft through the ’70s and ’80s. It was cool for me to be able to see the integration of composites and mechanical engineering and electrical engineering and software engineering—and what was needed to…make vertical takeoff and landing aircraft possible.

FM: You’ve built a company centered around a vertically integrated enterprise. You’re not just making the part— you’re figuring out is this the right composition of this base material. Why is having that depth of control over the process critical to the transformative thing that you’re trying to do?

JB: I think to engineer and build the most performant things—whether that’s at the aircraft level or whether that’s at the system level or the component level, or the individual part—you really need to understand all the nuance[s]. And whether that’s in the material properties or that’s in the way that the pieces integrate together, [or] whether [it’s] the way that the systems communicate with one another. I think that one of the pieces that I’m so excited about and passionate about is the technology that runs both the electronics and the software that run each of the components and the controls, whether it’s the flight computers or the actuators or the air data systems or the navigation systems. All of these different systems across the aircraft share a common hardware and software stack. It gives us the ability to innovate and to move aviation to the next level from a technological standpoint. The rate at which we’re able to collect data from each of those devices, the richness of the data, the temperatures and the currents and the voltages and the acceleration levels…we know so much about everything that’s going on across the aircraft…which is valuable from a product maintenance standpoint…and [provides] the ability to really understand the aircraft at a substantially more sophisticated level than we’ve ever been able to do before.

It also enables us to build a fly-by-wire control system [that] we hope will substantially improve safety by reducing pilot workload and allowing the pilot to focus on things that pilots are really good at doing. Our aircraft—you could just design it in a way that had more pilot workload than traditional aircraft. But we’ve decided to make it substantially easier and safer to fly.

FM: You’ve built a transparent culture. Is this something that you’ve driven into your organization purposefully?

JB: I think because we grew the organization organically, with that as the ethos from the beginning, I think that helps you see it [and know it’s something] that you always have to continue to nurture and focus on and foster, but it is something we cherish.

FM: Were there any challenges with getting the FAA to ac- cept and get through the first set of papers, putting it all into motion?

JB: We started working informally with the FAA back in 2015. We had conversations well back before that, but by that point in time, there was momentum building. We started the Electric Propulsion & Innovation Committee [EPIC] at GAMA. We then began a formal certification in 2018. We’d been flying our full-scale prototype for a [little more than a] year at that point, and the level of engagement and forward lean from the FAA was increasing steadily. We’ve continued to foster a really constructive relationship with everyone that we work with at the FAA. The degree with which the FAA has leaned into this industry is really fantastic. I mean, they see it as you see it, that it has the potential to transform flight both in the degree of relevancy that it has to large por- tions of the population on a daily basis but also to make it safer. And… more accessible, sustainable. So there’s a lot of value in each of these different dimensions.

FM: Can you pick a specific challenge so far that you’ve solved that has curved things up?

JB: I think that the one right now that I’m super excited about is getting this first aircraft off our pilot manufacturing line. And that it is just so exciting to have used all of our quality processes and have built all the procedures to not just build the experimental aircraft but to have the pieces in place to begin building conforming aircraft. So it’s a monumental achievement from the team. It took a spectacular amount of work, and I’m just so proud. 

Quick 6

Is there anyone living or dead that you would most like to fly with?

Kelly Johnson

If you could fly any aircraft that you haven’t flown yet, what would that be?

The F-22

What is your favorite airport that you’ve flown into?

Orcas Island Airport (KORS) in Washington

What do you believe has been the biggest innovation breakthrough or event in aviation?

Frank Whittle’s invention of the turbine

What is one important life lesson from being a pilot and inventor?

Dare to look over the horizon.

When not working towards the first TCed eVTOL aircraft, what would you rather be doing?

Catching up on the latest from our advanced research team

This profile first appeared in the August 2023/Issue 940 of FLYING’s print edition.

The post In Depth with JoeBen Bevirt Illuminates the Joby Vision appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Chinese manufacturer EHang, which obtained the watershed approval for its EH216-S air taxi in October, intends to expand operations to the United Arab Emirates through a long-term strategic collaboration with Wings Logistics Hub. The partners will work toward local certification and operations for several EH216 series models, and Wings plans to purchase up to 100 aircraft. Deliveries will begin in 2024, EHang said.

Wings is the passenger eVTOL and logistics technology subsidiary of Technology Holding Company (THC), the tech arm of investment management firm EIH Ethmar International Holding. Ethmar is chaired by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, one of the sons of Abu Dhabi ruler and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, better known as MbZ.

It appears Wings is a relatively new banner for Ethmar and THC, which does not yet list the brand as a subsidiary on its website. The company bills itself as a provider of smart logistics, advanced air mobility (AAM), and smart city solutions, including passenger eVTOL services, vertiports, and urban air mobility (UAM) corridors.

“Introducing electric aviation to the UAE is anticipated to alleviate congestion with zero emissions and, consequently, attract significant foreign direct investment and generate thousands of jobs in the region over the next decade,” said Mohamed Al Dhaheri, a Wings board member and the CEO of THC. “[We] remain steadfast in our commitment to advancing smart and autonomous vehicle technologies for passenger transportation, mobility, logistics, and smart city management in the UAE.”

As part of its expansion, EHang will join the Smart and Autonomous Vehicle Industries (SAVI) Cluster, an urban hub centered in Abu Dhabi’s Masdar City community. SAVI, which launched in October, aims to speed the development of new vehicles across air, land, and sea, and is backed by several Emirati royals. The initiative is led by the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO), for which Al Dhaheri briefly served as acting executive director.

Earlier this year, a pair of American eVTOL makers—Archer Aviation and Joby Aviation—also joined the SAVI Cluster. Archer plans to set up a new headquarters and engineering facility in the region with an eye toward a 2026 launch, while Joby intends to establish a significant footprint as well. In November, Archer announced the planned sale of 100 air taxis to Air Chateau International, an Emirati private heliport operator, for around $500 million.

In addition, EHang previously announced a partnership with Abu Dhabi’s Department of Economic Development (ADDED) to build a manufacturing plant in the city. The project aims to produce new aircraft, establish a regional command-and-control center, and build infrastructure such as vertiports.

The World’s First Electric Air Taxi

EHang’s expansion news comes just a few months after its self-flying, two-passenger EH216-S achieved type certification from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), making it the first manufacturer in the world with such an approval. As things stand, it remains the only firm to reach that milestone.

“For the industry, the first type certificate for an eVTOL aircraft is a major step forward, as it shows that a player has met the expectations around safety, reliability, etc. that the regulator imposes to protect the public,” Robin Riedel, who co-leads McKinsey’s Center for Future Mobility, told FLYING in October.

EHang’s autonomous design is a rarity in the eVTOL air taxi space, with most players choosing to fly with an onboard pilot in the early going. Its EH216-S has a 22 sm (19 nm) range and 80 mph (70 knots) cruise speed, both of which are on the lower side compared to other eVTOL air taxi designs.

The manufacturer’s type certification comes with a few key operational limitations—such as restrictions on routing, scheduling, and flights without visual observers—which it said it will gradually lift over time. As it prepares for customer deliveries, which are expected to begin this year, the company is working to obtain production and airworthiness certificates.

EHang is also developing the heavy-lift EH216-L and the firefighting EH216-F, both of which it intends to certify and deploy in the UAE.

The Middle East has seemingly become an increasingly attractive market for eVTOL manufacturers, in part due to the willingness of leaders to invest in AAM projects and experiment with new technologies for planned smart cities.

In December, the UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) and the Mohammed bin Rashid Aerospace Hub announced a partnership with vertiport firm VPorts to build a 9-acre AAM integrator center. The hub would support eVTOL flight testing and development and is expected to open next year.

Already, the project has received an initial $40 million investment, and it’s expected to generate nearly $7 billion in revenue for Abu Dhabi and Dubai over the next 25 years.

UAE leaders also published the country’s first national vertiport regulations, and VPorts plans to build the first facility at Ras Al Khaimah International Airport (OMRK) north of Dubai. The city’s crown prince in February approved plans to develop a nationwide vertiport network, working with the U.K.’s Skyports to develop widespread infrastructure by 2026. A concept for a facility at Dubai International Airport (OMDB) was unveiled in April.

In addition to Archer and Joby, another U.S. firm, Odys Aviation, hatched plans for service in the UAE in May. Embraer subsidiary Eve Air Mobility, based in Brazil, also intends to launch passenger eVTOL flights in Dubai by 2026. Eve has a preorder for 35 air taxis from Emirati operator Falcon Aviation, which is working with Archer.

EHang’s main competitor in China, AutoFlight, is also partnered with Falcon to bring its Prosperity eVTOL to the Middle East. Germany’s Lilium, meanwhile, picked up an order for 10 Pioneer Edition Jets from Dubai’s ArcosJet, which it announced as its exclusive dealer for private sales in the UAE, Israel, and Cyprus.

EHang is also targeting operations in Europe. In November, it announced plans to build a first-of-its-kind European UAM Center at Spain’s Lleida-Alguaire International Airport (LEDA). The center aims to prepare mainland Europe for UAM services by collecting data on early operations, which will be used to integrate eVTOL services with airport infrastructure, air traffic management systems, and other technologies.

Before flying in the Middle East or Europe, however, EHang will first need to wait for authorities to establish a process for mutual regulation of its CAAC approvals. Depending on the country and regulator, operational restrictions could be added or removed. But cementing the initial type certification should help EHang give authorities an idea of what early operations will entail.

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The Joby eVTOL flew from the well-known Downtown Heliport (KJRB) in Manhattan, where New York Mayor Eric Adams on Monday announced the city’s plans to electrify the heliport. The move would be a major step toward development of an eVTOL transport network in New York, a city known for a range of mobility challenges.

“By electrifying one of the most famous heliports in the world, New York is demonstrating global leadership in the adoption of electric air travel. We’re grateful for the support of the city, and we’re honored to be working with visionary partners like Delta Air Lines to bring our air taxi service to this market,” said JoeBen Bevirt, Joby’s founder and CEO. “We plan to make quiet, emissions-free flight an affordable, everyday reality for New Yorkers, while significantly reducing the impact of helicopter noise.”

Joby said the demonstration flight followed several days of preparation flights at the HHI Heliport (65NJ) in Kearny, New Jersey. The company previously announced that it expects New York to be one of its early launch markets after receiving certification for its piloted, four-passenger eVTOL aircraft.

• READ MORE: Joby’s Electric Air Taxi Is Now Flying with Pilots on Board

Joby said its aircraft can fly up to 100 sm on a charge and is optimized for rapid, back-to-back flights. It could complete nearly all typical trips across the five New York boroughs. While the notoriously difficult journey from Manhattan to John F. Kennedy International Airport (KJFK) can take more than an hour by car, Joby expects to make the trip in seven minutes by air.

“The Adams administration has been a leader in driving technology innovation and economic growth while simultaneously improving quality of life,” said Andrew Kimball, president and CEO of the New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC). “EDC’s new strategy for the Downtown Manhattan Heliport reflects these priorities while making it an industry leader in the embrace of eVTOLS—a quieter and greener helicopter alternative.”

Joby said it is working with partner Delta Air Lines, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the New York City EDC as they plan for eVTOL operations. Efforts include development of infrastructure at KJFK and LaGuardia Airport (KLGA). Delta said these plans will build on other recent improvements it has made at its New York hubs.

“Delivering exceptional experiences for our customers is why Delta has invested over $7 billion in New York City, especially at our LaGuardia and JFK hubs,” said Gail Grimmett, senior vice president of sustainability performance and strategic partnerships at Delta. “[Monday’s] announcement demonstrates the great progress that’s been made toward launching clean, quiet, and convenient air taxi services for Delta customers traveling to and from New York, and is a testament to our innovative partners at Joby and the support of Mayor Eric Adams in advancing new and sustainable technologies.”

Joby said it has flown more than 30,000 miles with its full-scale prototype eVTOL aircraft since 2017. The company’s pilot production plant in Marina, California,  recently completed its first aircraft. Joby also delivered an electric air taxi to the U.S. Air Force for testing. Joby expects to begin commercial passenger service in 2025.

The post Joby Performs First eVTOL Test Flights in New York appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Among them are many of the same aircraft you’ve seen me highlight in this column each week, from drones, to electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) designs, to spacecraft that have been to the International Space Station and back.

Among the attendees are former presidents and prime ministers, current state legislators and members of Congress, representatives from the Department of Defense, and CEOs and executives of some of the most disruptive companies in the industry, from Google’s Wing (and partner Walmart) to Volocopter to SpaceX.

Below you’ll find a roundup of the biggest announcements made during the three-day event, including from cutting-edge companies such as Joby Aviation, Archer Aviation, Sikorsky, Zipline, UP.Labs…and the list goes on and on. Without further ado, here’s what has come out of the event as Day 2 comes to a close:

Jetson Aero got seed funding…from the Black Eyed Peas’ will.i.am in a move that would come as quite a surprise if you haven’t followed the artist’s evolution over the years. The longtime frontman has invested in many a tech company over the years—and even launched and acquired a few of his own.

Now, will.i.am will attempt to make history by training to fly Jetson’s Jetson One, the firm’s single-seat personal eVTOL aircraft. The artist and entrepreneur would be one of the first on the planet to fly such a vehicle. Read more here.

Joby Aviation put pilots in the cockpit for the first time, advancing to crewed flight testing of its preproduction prototype eVTOL air taxi. Among those considered major eVTOL air taxi players (Archer Aviation, Lilium, Wisk Aero, and Volocopter to name a few), only Volocopter reached that milestone before Joby.

The next step for the manufacturer is “for credit” flight testing with the FAA, using a full-scale production prototype. The hope is for that to take place next year in time for a 2025 commercial launch with Delta Air Lines, beginning with air taxi routes in New York and Los Angeles. For a deeper dive, check out FLYING’s story from earlier this week. Meanwhile…

Archer got the ball rolling with the Air Force after the department paid out $1 million to the eVTOL firm, the first installment of what is expected to be many as part of its freshly signed contracts with AFWERX Agility Prime, worth up to $142 million. The payout was exchanged for a mobile flight simulator, which is now on its way to the Air Force.

The Air Force will train pilots to fly Archer’s Midnight eVTOL using the sim, familiarizing them with the aircraft and providing the company with valuable feedback on the pilot experience. And at an unspecified date, the company is expected to deliver up to six Midnight models to an as yet unnamed air force base. Here’s a deeper dive on that news.

Boeing’s Wisk Aero launched a flight test campaign in Los Angeles, bringing its Gen 5 autonomous air taxi, also known as Cora, to the City of Angels. CEO Brian Yutko said the company is the first eVTOL manufacturer to fly at a commercial airport in Los Angeles. He added that Wisk expects to fly its newer Gen 6 prototype for the first time in 2024.

“We’re flying at a dense urban airport with real-world autonomous operations at work, for the third time within this past year,” Yutko told FLYING at UP.Summit. “This is a step forward not only for our aircraft testing program, but for developing organizational skill at operating autonomous aircraft in complex environments.”

Sikorsky and startup Rain are automating firefighting in a collaboration that saw Rain equip a Sikorsky optionally piloted Black Hawk with its Wildfire Mission Autonomy System, taking the pilot out of the equation. The system automates just about every step of the process, from identification to dispatching to precision targeting of the blazes. Sikorsky’s Matrix autonomy suite beamed commands to the uncrewed Black Hawk.

The partnership hopes to improve response times and lower costs for firefighting companies, which are contending with an unprecedented number of blazes. More on that here.

UP.Labs and Alaska Airlines launched an incubator, with hopes of fostering six startups over the next three years. UP.Labs, a branch of UP.Partners (the host of UP.Summit), will launch the partnership with the airline in 2024.

The project will be called the Airline Venture Lab, and it’ll explore ways to address the greatest areas of friction in aviation, for both Alaska Airlines and the industry at large. Potential use cases include operational efficiency, guest experience, and the business of travel.

Reliable Robotics and the Air Force made a trio of positive findings after completing a large aircraft automation study. The partners found that the airframe they examined (which wasn’t named) could handle system upgrades without impacting remote pilot abilities. 

They also discovered that large, remotely piloted military aircraft can match the efficiency and flexibility of commercial aircraft, without the need to build a new airframe. Finally, Reliable found that its Remotely Operated Aircraft System (ROAS) could achieve the same levels of reliability required by the FAA while flying on larger airframes.

Beta Technologies opened its first electric-aircraft assembly plant in Vermont, which the company said will one day churn out 300 aircraft per year. The facility will build both the company’s eVTOL and its eCTOL (conventional takeoff and landing), which was revealed earlier this year.

The site spans 188,500 square feet and is located on a 40-acre plot of land at Burlington International Airport (KBTV), which will allow it to double in size in the future. FLYING’s Jonathan Welsh has the scoop.

Wing Drone Delivery is now serving customers in the Dallas area through a partnership with Walmart, announced in August. The agreement unites the largest retailer in the world and one of the largest corporations on the planet (Wing parent Alphabet) to deliver a variety of food and convenience items in minutes, straight to customers’ doorsteps, front yards, and more.

I’ll have more on this news Friday when I take a trip to the Dallas suburb of Frisco, where a Walmart Supercenter has been equipped to make Wing drone deliveries.

Personal eVTOL manufacturer Opener rebranded to Pivotal and launched Helix, its first scalable production aircraft. I got the chance to see the firm’s preproduction design, BlackFly, in action during a showcase Thursday morning. The aircraft showed off transitions between three phases of flight: vertical lift, forward cruise, and thrust-borne hover.

Helix will carry over many of the features of BlackFly, but it’s expected to have a more robust propulsion system, greater comfort, and possibly a higher payload capacity. A handful of customers are already flying the eVTOL, making it one of the earliest entries on the market.

Oh, and here’s the company’s BlackFly in action:

Still with me? Here are a few more quick hitters:

Elroy Air now Has 1,000 orders in its backlog for the Chaparral, its heavy-duty cargo delivery drone.

Regent raised $60 Million and partnered with Japan Airlines to develop a system for operations in the country with its all-electric seaglider.

Zipline partnered with Mendocino Farms to deliver sandwiches, salads, and more using its P2 drone delivery system.

And finally, Verge Aero unveiled the X7 Drone, an upgraded design which the company will use to perform drone light shows.

Bonus! Here are a few more photos from my first two days in Dallas:

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Archer on Wednesday received the Air Force’s initial installment of nearly $1 million, the first of what is expected to be many payments under the agreement valued at up to $142 million. In return, Archer sent the Air Force a mobile flight simulator, specified as a deliverable under the contracts.

The transaction marks the beginning of Archer’s relationship with AFWERX, the Air Force’s innovation arm, and its vertical lift division, Agility Prime, which also works with advanced air mobility (AAM) rivals Joby Aviation and Beta Technologies. 

The arrangement will eventually culminate in flight testing of Archer’s five-seater Midnight eVTOL with Air Force pilots on board. First, the company will deliver up to six of the aircraft to an unnamed Air Force Base. A time frame has not yet been specified, but the first contracted payment sets things in motion.

Archer hopes to begin ferrying up to four passengers at a time (plus a pilot) to and from airports in partnership with United Airlines in 2025. It will start with air taxi routes near O’Hare International Airport (KORD) in Chicago and between Downtown Manhattan and Newark Liberty International Airport (KEWR) in New Jersey.

“Archer’s eVTOL technology can help maintain the United States’ position as a global leader in aviation,” said Adam Goldstein, the company’s founder and CEO. “To see our historic contract with the U.S. Air Force move from signature to execution at a rapid pace is a reflection of the strong commitment that the U.S. Department of Defense has made to securing our country’s future by investing in transformational technology.”

Getting the Ball Rolling

Initially, Archer and the Air Force will use the mobile simulator to begin training pilots on Midnight’s flight capabilities. The partners will use it to assess the air taxi’s flight controls and familiarize Air Force personnel with the operational capabilities of Archer’s commercial platform. And down the line, there is potential for the military to develop a Midnight variant for its own use.

Archer will also deploy its mobile simulator to public and industry events to raise awareness of eVTOL designs and encourage more engagement with the novel tech. Other deliverables on the way to the Air Force include wind tunnel testing reports, as well as project specific certification plans (PSCPs) and subject specific certification plans (SSCPs) submitted to the FAA.

Once training in the simulator is complete, Archer will move to piloted flight testing, a milestone rival Joby announced it had reached Wednesday. But first, it will need to deliver the first Midnight aircraft to the Air Force. Joby hit that mark last month with the ahead-of-schedule delivery of its own air taxi to Edwards Air Force Base in California.

Billed as “a safer and quieter alternative to helicopters,” Midnight runs on a proprietary electric powertrain with six independent battery packs, creating a low-noise profile. It combines six rigid propellers for vertical lift with a half dozen tilt props that rotate toward the nose as it transitions to forward flight.

Archer believes the aircraft’s 1,000-pound target payload and 150 mph (130 knots) top speed—combined with its ability to take off vertically like a rotorcraft—could make it ideal for military rapid response, personnel transport, logistics support, or rescue operations. The firm also said Midnight will be more agile and cost-effective to transport, operate, and maintain in the field than the present aircraft deployed for these missions.

While the air taxi will have a maximum range of 100 sm (87 nm), Archer has optimized it for short hops with its planned commercial service in mind. Competing with on-demand rideshare firms, Midnight will primarily make back-to-back 20 sm (17 nm) flights, charging for about 12 minutes between trips. Archer asserts the model will make its air taxi business competitive with ground-based counterparts such as Uber and Lyft.

Where Archer Stands

Midnight’s lightweight carbon fiber composite airframe is developed by automaker Stellantis, which in January announced an exclusive mass production deal with the eVTOL manufacturer. Stellantis also boosted Archer with a $70 million acceleration investment, part of an August funding round.

In June, the partnership advanced from “concept phase” to “execution phase” as the companies ramped up construction on Archer’s high-volume manufacturing plant in Covington, Georgia. The facility at Covington Municipal Airport (KCVC) will initially span 350,000 square feet and produce up to 650 units per year, beginning in 2024. Eventually, though, the plant could more than triple in size and churn out as many as 2,000 aircraft annually.

Joby, however, may have it beat. Last month, it selected Dayton, Ohio—once home to the Wright brothers—as the site for its 200,000-square-foot scaled manufacturing plant. But the company said the 140-acre plot at Dayton International Airport (KDAY) could one day allow the facility to span 2 million square feet.

Short term, Joby’s manufacturing plant is expected to begin full-scale operations in 2025 and produce 500 air taxis per year. The company put down $500 million of its own money and could leverage up to $325 million in state and local incentives to support construction.

Archer and Joby, along with Boeing-owned Wisk Aero, are considered the leaders in the U.S. eVTOL air taxi space. Germany’s Lilium and Volocopter are also key players. All of them are awaiting type certification of their aircraft before they can launch commercial operations, but some are further along than others.

Joby appears to have a slight edge on Archer in terms of flight testing, but both are eyeing entry into service in 2025. Wisk, which plans to fly its air taxi autonomously from the jump, is looking a bit further out to 2028.

Lilium, also targeting a 2025 entry, has made the most progress of the firms when it comes to certification on both sides of the Atlantic. It’s the only eVTOL manufacturer with individual certification bases from both the FAA and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). However, Joby and Archer appear to be fully focused on the U.S. market before thinking about an international expansion.

While entry into service is not the be-all and end-all, Volocopter looks like the leader on that front. It flew its first crewed tests at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, in 2021, long before its rivals. It’s also done piloted tests in Germany, South Korea, and France, where it expects to launch commercially in Paris following AAM demos at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

Notably, Volocopter just signed a deal with Houston-based helicopter operator Bristow Group to deliver two VoloCity eVTOLs to the U.S., with an option for 78 more. The partners are aiming to launch in the U.S. after Volocopter receives EASA type certification in 2024. Unlike Lilium, the company has a concurrent certification path with the FAA, which should allow it to receive approval to fly in the U.S. shortly after EASA gives its greenlight.

Volocopter could hamper Archer and other U.S. eVTOL manufacturers by gobbling up early market share, if it can stick to its timeline. Or, it could assist them by introducing the U.S. market to the novel technology, potentially increasing the base demand for AAM services when they do enter the market. Either way, expect Archer to leverage its relationship with the Air Force to gain the upper hand.

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