In Depth with JoeBen Bevirt Illuminates the Joby Vision

In the quest to free vertical flight, the engineer makes good on a childhood dream.

Julie Boatman

Tuesday, January 16, 2024 at 07:12 AM ET

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JoeBen Bevirt spoke with FLYING at the Paris Air Show 2023. [Credit: Stephen Yeates]

Key Takeaways:

JoeBen Bevirt founded Joby Aviation, driven by a childhood dream of quiet, electric vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft to overcome geographical isolation without disturbing natural peace.
His vision, initially hampered by battery technology, became feasible with significant advancements in lithium-ion batteries and led to a vertically integrated company focused on innovative electric propulsion and fly-by-wire control systems.
Joby Aviation is now nearing the realization of its goal, having developed a conforming production prototype and actively collaborating with the FAA for certification, aiming to establish a new, safer, and sustainable mode of transportation.

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In the folds of the Santa Cruz Mountains in California, a boy grew up dreaming of a different kind of flight—one that wouldn’t be constrained by the traditional means of lifting off and landing in challenging places, just like the remote enclave his parents called home in the 1970s and ’80s. Yes, helicopters would, in theory, take him where he wanted to go, but the noise produced by a typical combustion engine and rotor blades shattered the quiet he wished to preserve.

This dream provoked a vision for JoeBen Bevirt—one he has singularly pursued ever since.