Air Taxi Venture Starts Blade Manufacturing

Air taxi startup business Joby Aviation has started manufacturing propeller blades at its plant in Dayton, Ohio, where it had already started material and component testing. It explained that the blades require complex carbon manufacturing, which along with about 30 other components of the final product are available within a 30-minute radius of the new plant.

Joby Aviation is headquartered in Santa Cruz, Calif., and aims to start commercial service with its electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft in 2026, a year later than initially planned.

While the assembly of the carbon-composite airframes is proceeding at plant in Marina, Calif., the propeller blade operation is centered at the Dayton site. Powertrain and electrical components will be manufactured at a plant in San Carlos, Calif.

The manufacturing network is planned to support up to 500 aircraft per year.  Joby Aviation stated that work on the propeller system will support its type and production certification programs, and the Ohio location will offer scalable capacity as the business expands.

The vehicle is described a hybrid helicopter-airplane, with fixed wings and six propellers mounted on nacelles and capable of tilting 90 degrees. It will take off and land vertically, but function in flight as a typical aircraft at top speed of 200 mph.

The eVTOL will have a range of 150 miles per charge, with space for a pilot and four passengers.

The propellers are formed as dense layers of carbon fiber according to precise shapes to maintain low noise levels during flight.

“Joby's propeller blades are a key part of what makes our aircraft special,” offered Eric Allison, chief product officer, “central to its low acoustic profile and the result of a decade of complex engineering.”

Each propeller has five blades mounted on tilting rotors that allow for variable speeds and pitches.

The new business has a number of high profile investors, including Toyota Motor Corp., Uber Technologies, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Technology Ventures, and several other major institutional investment firms.