Photo: Joby Aviation/Twitter
After announcing in the summer that it managed to complete the longest test flight of an eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) aircraft to date, Joby Aviation now comes back with another big achievement. The company claims its helicopter/plane flying machine recently achieved the fastest speed of an eVTOL so far.
Joby Aviation’s aircraft has a capacity of four (plus the pilot), is powered by six electric motors, and flying in it is compared by the California-based company to getting into an SUV rather than boarding a conventional plane.
Developed in over 10 years of hard work, the zero-emissions eVTOL claims a range of more than 150 miles on a single charge. Back in July, a full-size prototype completed what Joby claims to have been the longest test flight of such an aircraft, traveling over 154 miles (247 km), counting its take-off and landings. The air taxi stayed in the air for over 77 minutes, completing 11 loops.
As for the speed of the eVTOL, up until now, Joby said it would be able to reach up to 200 mph (322 kph). But as of this weekend, that threshold has been pushed forward, with the air taxi being able to hit a speed of 205 mph (almost 330 kph).
The pre-production aircraft completed what Joby Aviation claims to be the fastest flight of an eVTOL to date. Although we have no footage so far, several flight sessions took place last week until the air taxi reached the aforementioned speed. On January 18th, it managed to reach 186 mph (299 kph), and then, in the next following days, it hit 190 mph (305 kph), 198 mph (318 kph), and finally, 205 mph, on January 20.
Next, Joby Aviation is working on achieving another goal, which is to make its eVTOL fly at 10,000 ft (3,048 m) altitude. The company plans to begin commercial operations of its air taxi in 2024.
Developed in over 10 years of hard work, the zero-emissions eVTOL claims a range of more than 150 miles on a single charge. Back in July, a full-size prototype completed what Joby claims to have been the longest test flight of such an aircraft, traveling over 154 miles (247 km), counting its take-off and landings. The air taxi stayed in the air for over 77 minutes, completing 11 loops.
As for the speed of the eVTOL, up until now, Joby said it would be able to reach up to 200 mph (322 kph). But as of this weekend, that threshold has been pushed forward, with the air taxi being able to hit a speed of 205 mph (almost 330 kph).
The pre-production aircraft completed what Joby Aviation claims to be the fastest flight of an eVTOL to date. Although we have no footage so far, several flight sessions took place last week until the air taxi reached the aforementioned speed. On January 18th, it managed to reach 186 mph (299 kph), and then, in the next following days, it hit 190 mph (305 kph), 198 mph (318 kph), and finally, 205 mph, on January 20.
Next, Joby Aviation is working on achieving another goal, which is to make its eVTOL fly at 10,000 ft (3,048 m) altitude. The company plans to begin commercial operations of its air taxi in 2024.
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