Joby Aviation, Inc, an eVTOL developer based in Santa Cruz, California, said it has completed the second of five steps toward FAA type certification of its aircraft for commercial use carrying passengers.
During the second stage of type certification, called “means of compliance,” an aircraft manufacturer “identifies the ways in which it will demonstrate it has met the regulatory intent of the safety rules that were defined during the first stage of the process,” the company said. The first certification stage is called “certification basis.”
Joby said completion of the second phase moves it closer to its goal of beginning commercial passenger service with its eVTOL aircraft by 2025.
“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,” said Didier Papadopoulos, Joby’s head of aircraft OEM.
Joby noted that small parts of the second stage sometimes remain unfinished to allow for additional work on minor improvements and design changes that might arise later in the certification process. “With 94 percent of our means of compliance now accepted by the FAA, Joby considers the second stage essentially complete,” the company said.
Joby said it has also made progress toward completing the third certification stage, called “certification plans,” the fourth stage, “testing and analysis,” and the fifth stage, “show and verify.”
