In late December, Joby Aviation Inc. (Santa Cruz, Calif., U.S.) announced a couple of additional testing breakthroughs for its electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. This involved completion of aerostructure tests for certification credit with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), soon after entering the final phase of aircraft certification.
Joby successfully completed static load testing of the tail structure, marking the first time the company has tested a major aerostructure of its aircraft for-credit with FAA representatives present. The tests took place in Santa Cruz as part of a rigorous testing campaign covering all of the structures, components and systems on the aircraft, producing data that is required for FAA type certification.
Didier Papadopoulos, president of Aircraft OEM at Joby, notes that the company’s “vertically-integrated approach to aircraft development gives us the capability to design, build and test entire aerostructures in-house, providing Joby with a strong foundation to rapidly and efficiently continue to bring innovative technologies to market.”…