Joby Aviation's first production model electric air taxi takes off

Joby Aviation has started flying its first production-model electric air taxi as part of certification testing with U.S. regulators. The aircraft is being tested at the company’s facility in Marina, California, and these flights will prepare it for evaluations by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) pilots later this year. This testing is an important step toward receiving Type Inspection Authorization (TIA) and gaining approval for commercial operations. The company has already spent years working with regulators to approve the aircraft’s design, plans, and components, and its test pilots have flown more than 50,000 miles (80,500 km) in earlier developmental models. Joby’s air taxi is a six-rotor electric aircraft that can take off and land vertically like a helicopter and fly forward like an airplane. It can carry one pilot and four passengers. The company plans to begin operations in Dubai later this year, where two of four landing sites are already under construction. Joby will also start limited operations in the United States as part of a White House-backed initiative to integrate electric air taxis and small aircraft into national airspace. The company is involved in five of the eight FAA pilot programs. Looking ahead, Joby aims to produce four aircraft per month by 2027 at manufacturing facilities in California and Dayton, Ohio.