Flying taxis are the next market for folks looking to make money out of moving people from here to there. Joby is one of the companies getting in on the future mobility action, having previously conducted lengthy test flights, some with NASA’s assistance.
The most recent development for the company is a first — the first public airport to public airport trip for a flying taxi. That’s a bigger deal than it sounds like — taking off from an airport is fraught with all sorts of regulations. Unless you’re doomed hero Richard Russell, who never bothered to ask for permission.
A Joby to your job
In practical terms, Joby’s latest achievement isn’t much. The craft took off from Marina Municipal Airport in California and landed in Monterey Regional Airport in the same State on 13 August this year. The remarkable thing about the twelve-minute, 18.5-kilometre (10 nautical miles) flight is that it took place in FAA-controlled airspace.
The company calls it “a critical measure of the maturity of the Company’s path to commercialization as the flights also demonstrated the type of real-world service Joby intends to offer to the public.”
The brief video highlighting the trip shows off some of the aircraft’s capabilities. Vertical takeoff and landing is on display, plus there’s the whole ‘electric motors’ feature that completes Joby’s eVTOL acronym.
“Joby’s ability to integrate into controlled airspace was demonstrated when its aircraft successfully sequenced with other aircraft at Monterey Airport, including a holding pattern to accommodate another arriving airliner. Joby’s aircraft systems, pilot certification and training were on full display by adhering to the same air traffic control protocols as a major airline,” the company added.
Future plans for the flying taxi company include Type Inspection Authorization flight testing, completing authorisation with the FAA, and then launching commercial services in Los Angeles and New York City. What it’ll cost to summon one of these flying critters remains unknown, but it’ll probably be pricier than an Uber Black.
