Joby Aviation this week completed a series of aerostructures tests on its four-passenger eVTOL aircraft as it works towards FAA type certification. On December 17, the company announced a successful conclusion to static load testing for the tail structure, earning type certification credits with FAA officials present at its facility in Santa Cruz, California.

The tail section work was part of a wider campaign of testing for all of the piloted eVTOL model’s structures, components and systems, with Joby now aiming to complete FAA type certification in 2025. During the most recent tests, Joby’s engineering team applied loads to the aircraft’s “FAA-conforming” tail that exceeded the maximum forces this structure is expected to be subjected to during flight.

“Completing for-credit static load testing on a major aircraft structure marks an important step towards certification of the Joby aircraft and we’re very pleased with the results,” said Didier Papadopoulos, Joby’s president of aircraft OEM. “Reaching this milestone is the culmination of years of hard work across the engineering, testing, certification, and manufacturing teams at Joby.”

Beyond service entry of the eVTOL model, Joby appears to have ambitions to develop a family of aircraft that could also include a hydrogen-powered version. “Our vertically-integrated approach to aircraft development gives us capability to design, build, and test entire aerostructures in-house, providing Joby with a strong foundation to rapidly and efficiently continue to bring innovative technologies to market,” Papadopoulos added.

In recent weeks, Joby has been conducting demonstration flights with its JAS4-1 experimental aircraft in Korea. The flights, which followed earlier public displays in Japan, are part of the South Korean government's Korea Urban Air Mobility Grand Challenge.