Electric air taxi developer Joby Aviation pledged to double its manufacturing output to four aircraft per month in 2027. The Santa Cruz, Calif., business started producing propeller blades at its Dayton, Ohio, operation in October. The company also recently expanded a plant in Marina, Calif., where carbon-composite airframes are assembled, and it will produce the aircraft electric powertrains and electrical components at a plant in San Carlos, Calif.
In November Joby reported that it completed a successful test flight for its electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, which is described as 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.
Joby Aviation is headquartered in Santa Cruz, Calif., and aims to start commercial service in 2026, a year later than initially planned.
Joby claims the commercial prospects are expanding for its eVTOLs, citing its recent development agreement with a Saudi Arabian industrial group; as well as the U.S. government’s eVTOL Integration Pilot Program; and a presidential executive order directing the Dept. of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration to assist in accelerating “safe commercialization” of drone and eVTOL technologies.
“We are entering the next golden age of aviation,” stated founder and CEO JoeBen Bevirt. “From factories in California and Ohio, we plan to redefine how people travel across the world, as Joby becomes one of a small number of companies in the world with the industrial capability to build aircraft at this pace and quality.”
