Joby begins final assembly of first company-conforming eVTOL
Joby Aviation has begun final assembly of what it believes to be the world’s first company-conforming eVTOL aircraft, the first to be produced at Joby’s pilot manufacturing facility in Marina, California.
Conformity means that a product has been built according to its intended design in two stages: first, company-conforming, where the aircraft is built according to released designs and under the purview of a fully-implemented quality management system, and second, FAA-conforming, where the aircraft is ready to begin testing for credit with the FAA.
Manufactured in accordance with a released design and built according to a complete implementation of a quality management system, qualifying it as a company-conforming aircraft is the path to achieving the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) type certification required to begin commercial passenger operations.
“Beginning final assembly of our first company-conforming aircraft is a critical achievement for Joby and a landmark for the wider eVTOL industry,” said Didier Papadopoulos, Head of Aircraft OEM at Joby.
“It allows us to exercise our quality management system in preparation for type certification and a subsequent production certification, and I’m very grateful for the energy and commitment of the team behind this achievement.”
Having built the major aerostructures of the aircraft – the wing, tail, and fuselage – Joby is now beginning the process of mating structures and installing the wiring, electronics, actuation and propulsion systems on its pilot production line, and expects the aircraft to begin flight testing in the first half of 2023.
Joby’s quality management system has matured to include tracking and documentation of every part on the aircraft, configuration management of engineering drawings, environmental conditions during fabrication, and actions taken by manufacturing technicians.
The system is reviewed regularly by the FAA as part of the company’s preparation to receive a production certificate following the type certification of its eVTOL aircraft. Concurrently with low-rate aircraft production in Marina, Joby is actively evaluating proposals from a number of US states to support the construction of the Company’s Phase 1 production facility.
In November 2022, The Federal Register published a certification basis, 32 months after Joby’s G‑1 was originally signed, as the FAA has not yet established powered-lift airworthiness standards in title 14 CFR, the FAA type certificates powered-lift as special class aircraft.
Previously in October 2022, Joby Aviation formally applied for its aircraft design to be certified for use in Japan, as Japanese and US regulatory authorities reached an agreement to deliver a streamlined approval process for US applicants who wish to validate their eVTOL aircraft designs in Japan.