Joby Aviation expands flight test program to include pilot on board

Joby Aviation announced it has expanded its flight test program to include flying with a pilot on board the aircraft, a critical step on the company’s journey towards commercial operations. Four members of Joby‘s flight test team have now piloted flights on board Joby’s pre-production prototype aircraft, completing a series of initial tests that included free thrustborne hovers and forward transitions to semi-thrustborne flight. The testing took place at the company’s Pilot Production Facility in Marina, CA and complements ongoing flight testing at Edwards Air Force Base announced in September, where both Joby and U.S. Air Force pilots will demonstrate the aircraft’s capabilities in realistic operating scenarios. To date, the majority of Joby’s flight testing has been piloted remotely from a ground control station, using state-of-the-art communications technology and software. This has allowed the company to generate a vast amount of data on the performance of the aircraft across a broad range of flight conditions.