The American transport company Joby Aviation has just obtained one of the authorizations to deploy a commercial service in the country.
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Americans may soon be able to travel in flying taxis. Joby Aviation, a company specializing in transport, recently received certification (Part 135) from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) allowing it to market a service with its flying machines. It has developed an all-electric, vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft capable of carrying a pilot and four passengers at a maximum speed of 321 km/h. The authorization it has just obtained brings it closer to its objective of launching a service in the United States as early as 2024.
The certification is indeed one of the three FAA approvals required for Joby Aviation to market its flying taxis in the country. He has yet to receive a type certificate signifying that his aircraft meets all design and safety standards from the government agency and a production certification, an approval to begin manufacturing the craft.
Flying taxi services marketed in several countries
While waiting to obtain these two other certifications, Joby Aviation has projects with the one it has received: “Over the coming months, we will use our Part 135 certificate to practice operations and refine the customer technology platforms that will underpin our multimodal ridesharing service, while refining our procedures to ensure seamless journeys for our customers”said Bonny Simi, head of flight operations and personnel at the company.
Expecting to receive this first certification in the second half of 2022, Joby Aviation says it received it earlier than expected following a five-step process. This one “included submitting over 850 pages of manuals for approval and requiring Joby’s initial testing framework to demonstrate proficiency in procedures and training under FAA observation”. Regarding the tests carried out by the company, one of them resulted in a crash last February. Involving a remotely piloted prototype, this incident caused no injuries.
Besides the United States, Joby Aviation plans to offer a flying taxi service in South Korea, which is why it has partnered with SK Telecom, the country’s main telecommunications company. No date has been given for this deployment, but it could be as early as 2025, when South Korea plans to start commercializing urban air transport.
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