Suggested Searches

2 min read

NASA and Joby Complete Flight Tests

Members from NASA’s Advanced Air Mobility National Campaign team and Revolutionary Vertical Lift Technology team were on site at Joby’s facility located near Big Sur, California, for two weeks completing tests with Joby’s prototype aircraft. With the tests complete, the team is analyzing the collected data.
NASA’s Mobile Acoustics Facility is parked in the background of Joby’s aircraft at Joby’s Electric Flight Base.
NASA’s Mobile Acoustics Facility is parked in the background of Joby’s aircraft at Joby’s Electric Flight Base located near Big Sur, California. As the aircraft flew planned test scenarios, the NASA Advanced Air Mobility National Campaign team collected information about how the vehicle moved, how the vehicle sounded, and how the vehicle communicated with controllers during the recent testing from Aug. 30-Sept. 10.
Credits: Joby Aviation

Members from NASA’s Advanced Air Mobility National Campaign team were on site at Joby’s Electric Flight Base located near Big Sur, California, for two weeks completing tests with Joby’s prototype aircraft. With the tests complete, the team is analyzing the collected data.

As announced in a recent news release, NASA’s goal is to collect vehicle performance and acoustic data for use in modeling and simulation of future airspace concepts. After the data is analyzed, the test results will also help identify gaps in current Federal Aviation Administration regulations and policies to help incorporate Advanced Air Mobility aircraft into the National Airspace System.

NASA’s Revolutionary Vertical Lift Technology project’s Mobile Acoustics Facility pictured in the foreground.
NASA’s Revolutionary Vertical Lift Technology project’s Mobile Acoustics Facility along with an array of more than 50 microphones helped the NASA Advanced Air Mobility National Campaign team measure the acoustic profile of Joby’s aircraft in different flight phases. The measurements occurred during a recent test at Joby’s Electric Flight Base located near Big Sur, California, Aug. 30-Sept. 10.
Credits: Joby Aviation

As the Joby aircraft flew planned test scenarios, the NASA team collected information about how the vehicle moved, how the vehicle sounded, and how the vehicle communicated with controllers.

Analyzing this data will ready the National Campaign to accomplish the first set of campaign tests, known as NC-1, slated for 2022, with more complex flight scenarios and other industry vehicles.

Joby’s aircraft flies above one of NASA’s microphones.
Joby’s aircraft flies above one of NASA’s microphones, which is one of more than 50 recorders that helped the NASA Advanced Air Mobility National Campaign team measure the acoustic profile of the aircraft in different flight phases. The data was collected during a recent test at Joby’s Electric Flight Base located near Big Sur, California, Aug. 30-Sept. 10.
Credits: Joby Aviation

When fully integrated into the national airspace, AAM will provide an efficient and affordable system for passenger and cargo transportation, and other applications in the public interest. This system could include aircraft like package delivery drones, air taxis and medical transport vehicles.