Joby Aviation has completed piloted demonstration flights including full transition from vertical to cruise flight, and back.
This capability is essential for the Joby eVTOL aircraft, which can take off and land vertically like a helicopter while achieving the efficiency and speed of a conventional fixed-wing aircraft during forward flight.
The all-electric air taxi is designed to carry a pilot and up to four passengers at speeds reaching 200mph (321km/h).
The company initially demonstrated remotely piloted transitions in 2017 and has since conducted more than 40,000 miles of test flights across various aircraft.
This includes hundreds of transitions from vertical take-off to cruise flight, as well as more than a hundred flights with a pilot onboard at low speeds and during hover.
Following the first full transition flight with a pilot on 22 April 2025, Joby has conducted multiple transition flights with three different pilots, marking it as the first company to routinely perform inhabited testing of an electric air taxi from hover to wingborne flight.
Joby aims to deliver an aircraft to Dubai by mid-2025 to complete flight testing prior to initiating passenger services in the region.
Joby Aircraft OEM president Didier Papadopolous said: “Achieving this milestone is hugely significant for Joby. It not only demonstrates the high level of confidence we have in the performance of the aircraft as we prepare for commercial service in Dubai, it also paves the way to starting TIA flight testing with FAA pilots onboard.”
The inaugural pilot onboard transition was executed by Joby Chief Test Pilot James “Buddy” Denham at the company’s flight test facility in Marina, California.
During the flight, Denham performed a vertical take-off in the latest aircraft model from Joby’s production line, followed by a climb to wingborne flight and a vertical landing on a runway.
To prepare for this pilot-on-board transition flight, Joby conducted thousands of tests at its Integrated Test Lab, which simulates all major aircraft systems.
This facility allowed the team to evaluate propulsion units, actuators, and other hardware and software identical to those in the prototype aircraft.
Additionally, Joby completed a series of flight tests at Edwards Air Force Base to validate the redundancy in the aircraft's design.
Remote pilots managed simulated in-flight emergencies, such as motor or battery failures.
The aircraft successfully maintained safe flight and controlled vertical landings in all scenarios, even with only four of its six propellers operational.
Joby has also conducted demonstration flights in locations including New York City, Japan, and Korea.
The company currently operates a fleet of five aircraft for flight testing, with two stationed at Edwards Air Force Base for collaboration with defence customers.
In March this year, Joby Aviation teamed up with Virgin Atlantic, which operates long-haul flights from the UK to the US and Caribbean, to introduce an air taxi service in the UK.
