NASA testing Joby's eVTOL aircraft for commercial readiness as air-taxi
American space agency NASA has finally started testing Joby Aviation's electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicle for its Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) National Campaign. NASA is collecting vehicle performance and acoustic data for the "modeling and simulation of future airspace concepts." The multi-event campaign to advance airspace mobility in the US will continue at several locations over many years. Here are more details.
NASA will test the eVTOL over 10 days near California
On September 1, NASA announced until September 10, it will test the eVTOL aircraft at Joby's Electric Flight Base near Big Sur, California. This marks the first time NASA is testing an eVTOL vehicle as part of the AAM campaign. Joby Aviation founder-CEO JoeBen Bevirt said Joby was proud to have collaborated with NASA and to be the first eVTOL company in the campaign.
AAM program aims to prepare FAA for air taxi commercialization
NASA has planned some test scenarios for the Joby aircraft that it will replicate with other vehicles (eVTOLs and otherwise) under the AAM program to evaluate them. The collective goal of the AAM program is to spot gaps in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) rules and regulations to ensure the US is ready for commercial flying taxis alongside delivery drones and other unconventional vehicles.
Joby's eVTOL will be evaluated using over 50 microphones
In this round of testing, NASA will evaluate Joby's eVTOL using a mobile acoustic facility comprising an array of over 50 microphones. Based on the analysis of data collected, the AAM National Campaign will execute the first set of campaign tests, known as NC-1, sometime in 2022 with complex flight scenarios to evaluate the readiness of vehicles for commercial use in the near future.
AAM will test all vehicles for flight safety, airworthiness
Another element of the testing is to ensure that external ranges participating in NC-1 meet the protocols for future testing by establishing a baseline. The team will also test flight safety and airworthiness processes to approve participants interested in the campaign. Once AAM is a part of the national airspace in the US, it aims to provide efficient, affordable conveyance for cargo and passengers.
