With Joby Aviation’s all-electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, NASA has begun its inaugural flight test for the world’s first electric air taxi.
All-electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft may be used as air taxis in the future. (NASA/NASA/Twitter)
The testing will take place at Joby’s Electric Flight Base near Big Sur, California, until September 10.
What is its goal?
The purpose of NASA’s project is to gather vehicle performance and acoustic data for use in modelling and simulation of future airspace ideas. This test will aid in the identification of holes in present FAA laws and procedures that will aid in the integration of AAM aircraft into the National Airspace System. Over the course of several years, this multi-event effort to enhance airborne mobility in the United States will take place in a number of sites.
“The National Campaign Developmental Testing is an important strategic step in NASA’s goals to accelerate the AAM industry timeline,” said Davis Hackenberg, NASA AAM mission integration manager. “These testing scenarios will help inform gaps in current standards to benefit the industry’s progress of integrating AAM vehicles into the airspace.”
National Campaign Development testing going through rounds
NASA will collect data from Joby’s eVTOL aircraft during this phase of testing, which is stated to become a commercial passenger service in the future. The AAM National Campaign will use that data to prepare for the first round of campaign testing, known as NC-1, which will take place in 2022 and include more sophisticated flying scenarios and other industry vehicles.
The NASA crew will collect data on how the Joby aircraft moves, sounds, and communicates with controllers as it flies through pre-planned test scenarios. Similar scenarios will be flown in the future to assess vehicle readiness.
The team will deploy the mobile acoustics facility and build an array of more than 50 microphones to measure Joby’s aircraft’s acoustic profile at various stages of flight.
Proud moment for JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby Aviation
“NASA’s AAM National Campaign is critical to driving scientific understanding and public acceptance of eVTOL aircraft,” said JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby Aviation. “We’re incredibly proud to have worked closely with NASA on electric flight over the past 10 years and to be the first eVTOL company to fly as part of the campaign.”
Another aspect of the testing is establishing a baseline to ensure that Pexternal ranges participating in NC-1 fulfil the protocols for future testing. The crew will also put NASA’s flight safety and airworthiness procedures to the test before approving campaign participants to fly.
AAM encompasses developing and deploying aviation in innovative ways
AAM will provide an efficient and cheap system for passenger and cargo transportation, as well as other public-interest applications, once completely integrated into the national airspace. Package delivery drones, air taxis, and medical transport vehicles might all be part of this system.
AAM is an aviation system that entails designing and deploying aircraft in novel methods not seen before. NASA’s Advanced Air Mobility project is in charge of the AAM National Campaign, which aims to be a community catalyst for generating and evaluating system-level concepts and solutions for AAM. The Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate of the agency oversees the AAM project.
