FutureFlight
Joby’s eVTOL Aircraft Makes First Flights With Pilots on Board
Having completed more than 1,000 remotely piloted flight tests with its eVTOL prototypes over the past 10 years, Joby Aviation has successfully flown its electric air taxi with pilots on board for the first time.
Joby experimental test pilot Zach Reeder flies the company's preproduction prototype eVTOL aircraft in Marina, California.
Joby experimental test pilot Zach Reeder flies the company's preproduction prototype eVTOL aircraft in Marina, California. (Photo: Joby Aviation)

Having completed more than 1,000 remotely piloted flight tests with its eVTOL prototypes over the past 10 years, Joby Aviation has successfully flown its electric air taxi with pilots on board for the first time. Joby announced today that four pilots have now flown the company’s preproduction prototype outside its testing facility in Marina, California. 

According to Joby, the crewed flight tests involved some hovering and “semi-thrustborne flight,” which means the aircraft mostly relied on its tilting propellers to provide vertical lift while traveling at a low speed. The pilots have not yet completed a full transition flight, in which the vehicle transitions from hover to fully wing-borne, horizontal cruise flight. Joby became the first eVTOL developer to complete a transition flight with an uncrewed, remotely piloted prototype in 2017. 

In this article