Photo: Joby Aviation
Air taxi manufacturers all over the world can dazzle and delight us with the unique and incredible qualities of their eVTOLs (electric vertical take-off and landing) but there’s only one thing that holds the key – certification.
Even the most impressive eVTOL can end up as just another interesting concept, if it doesn’t get the official green light for commercial operations. Plus, AAM (advanced air mobility) is a new world entirely, which makes the regulating aspect even more sensitive. eVTOL makers have to jump through hoops to get their air machines approved, and rightly so. After all, we’re all supposed to be traveling in these contraptions in the distant future, and we’d like them to be safe.
There’s an unofficial air taxi race going on, and it’s still hard to tell who will be the one to reach the finish line first. In other words, what is the first company that will succeed in launching commercial air taxi services? Judging by the bold claims of manufacturers and other aviation operators, it’s a tight competition. Everyone seems to be very close to that unofficial deadline.
However, few are truly ready to roll out these revolutionary mobility operations in two years from now. Joby claims to have now reached further than any other competitor, in terms of certification. It’s the certainly one of the best-known names in this sector, so that wouldn’t be surprising.
More specifically, Joby has now completed two of the certification stages in the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) process. And it claims to be the only one to have reached this point.
It was also allegedly the first one to have completed stage one, which was finalized with the publication of Joby’s Certification Basis in the Federal Register. This initial phase focused on defining the safety rules.
The second stage, officially defined as “Means of Compliance” is all about establishing the ways in which the manufacturer will demonstrate compliance with those safety rules. At this point, Joby says that the FAA has accepted 94% of its Means of Compliance. Apparently, the goal isn’t to get 100%, because there still needs to be some space for potential changes during the rest of the process. But it officially gives Joby the green light to move on to the next stage.
It already sounds like a lot of work, but there are three more stages to go – “Certification Plans,” “Testing and Analysis,” plus “Show and Verify.”
All in all, Joby is confident that it will be able to wrap things up in a few years and finally become one of the first to launch commercial operations by 2025. Joby’s electric four-seater could be the first to offer home-to-airport transportation in Los Angeles and New York, through a partnership with Delta.
There’s an unofficial air taxi race going on, and it’s still hard to tell who will be the one to reach the finish line first. In other words, what is the first company that will succeed in launching commercial air taxi services? Judging by the bold claims of manufacturers and other aviation operators, it’s a tight competition. Everyone seems to be very close to that unofficial deadline.
However, few are truly ready to roll out these revolutionary mobility operations in two years from now. Joby claims to have now reached further than any other competitor, in terms of certification. It’s the certainly one of the best-known names in this sector, so that wouldn’t be surprising.
More specifically, Joby has now completed two of the certification stages in the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) process. And it claims to be the only one to have reached this point.
It was also allegedly the first one to have completed stage one, which was finalized with the publication of Joby’s Certification Basis in the Federal Register. This initial phase focused on defining the safety rules.
The second stage, officially defined as “Means of Compliance” is all about establishing the ways in which the manufacturer will demonstrate compliance with those safety rules. At this point, Joby says that the FAA has accepted 94% of its Means of Compliance. Apparently, the goal isn’t to get 100%, because there still needs to be some space for potential changes during the rest of the process. But it officially gives Joby the green light to move on to the next stage.
It already sounds like a lot of work, but there are three more stages to go – “Certification Plans,” “Testing and Analysis,” plus “Show and Verify.”
All in all, Joby is confident that it will be able to wrap things up in a few years and finally become one of the first to launch commercial operations by 2025. Joby’s electric four-seater could be the first to offer home-to-airport transportation in Los Angeles and New York, through a partnership with Delta.
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