Joby enters final phase of certification programme
January 3, 2025
It’s been a busy few months within the eVTOL world, with flight test successes standing in sharp contrast to setbacks and redundancies reported elsewhere. However, with 2025 speculated by many industry insiders to ‘make or break’ year for eVTOL aspirations, Joby Aviation is showing no signs of slowing down – having moved one step closer to achieving type certification.
With TIA testing considered the final phase of the certification process, this section involves FAA test pilots validating an aircraft’s performance and safety in accordance with previously-approved certification test plans. Joby’s first testing under TIA was conducted on its aircraft’s flight deck in Marina, California, with four FAA pilots using FAA-conforming hardware over three days of analysis in the simulator. Pilot workload, physical ergonomics of the flight deck and other human factors elements of aircraft safety were among key criteria studied.
TIA flight testing is targeted for 2025 with Joby’s first FAA-conforming aircraft (currently under assembly), whilst for-credit testing of components, aerostructures and systems continue alongside the upcoming aerial elements.
“This milestone demonstrates Joby’s continued industry leadership and is a reflection of the maturity of our test programme and the rigorous company testing we’ve already completed,” commented Joby CEO and founder JoeBen Bevirt. Such testing included December 2024’s successful completion of static load testing on an FAA-conforming tail structure, marking the first time Joby has tested a major aerostructure for FAA credit.
As the first eVTOL manufacturer to complete three of five FAA type certification stages, Joby is now more than 40% complete with the work for its fourth stage (testing and analysis), with only stage five (show and verify) largely unfulfilled.
Joby previously completed its third stage of FAA type certification process in the fourth quarter of 2023, during which it “submitted certification plans that cover all of the aircraft’s structural, mechanical and electrical systems, as well as the Company’s intended certification approach to cybersecurity, human factors, and noise”. During the second quarter of 2024, a number of these forthcoming test plans were formally accepted by the US regulator.
Announcing the milestone of its third stage completion in February 2024, Joby said it was now “fully focused” on the fourth certification stage, with president of aircraft OEM Didier Papadopoulos confirming that Joby “has a clear path to certifying every aspect of [its] aircraft”.
