Joby Announces Completion of Second Stage Certification Process, “First eVTOL Company to Achieve This”
U.S‑based Joby Aviation announced today, the completion of its second stage of the FAA certification process, reports a press release. Joby is the first eVTOL company to achieve this. There are five steps in total. Joby provided a summary of these five certification stages in its Q2 2022 Shareholder Letter.
The news comes on the heels of a recent visit by FAA Acting Administrator, Billy Nolen, and members of his team to Joby’s manufacturing facilities in Marina, California where they were able to witness one of the several test flights that Joby regularly conducts on a daily basis.
What does this most recent certification stage mean?
: With the completion of the second stage, Joby has successfully identified the ways it will demonstrate it has met the regulatory intent of the safety rules called “Means of Compliance.”
: With 94 percent of the Means of Compliance now accepted by the FAA, Joby considers the second stage essentially complete. It is typical for a small portion to remain open to allow for further collaboration on minor design changes and improvements that may occur later in the certification process.
: With the achievement of this milestone, Joby will focus on closing the remaining certification plans and completing the testing required to certify its aircraft.
: Achieving this goal moves Joby one step closer to its target of launching a commercial passenger service by 2025.
Didier Papadopoulos, Head of Aircraft OEM at Joby, commented, “Certification is an integral part of everything that an aerospace company does and with the achievement of this critical milestone, we’re now able to confidently focus our efforts on closing the remaining certification plans and completing the testing required to certify our aircraft.”

Didier Papadopoulos
Joby has already made substantial progress in the third stage of the certification process. The release states, “The four area-specific certification plans (ASCPs) were submitted to the FAA as of last November, while the company’s first equipment-level qualification test plan also introduced. This enables for-credit qualification testing to proceed.”
Progress also continues in stage four (‘Testing and Analysis’) and stage five (‘Show and Verify’)
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