Joby Aviation, Inc. this week became the first company to fly an all-electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft as part of a new NASA program. The agency’s Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) National Campaign is designed to promote public confidence in emerging aviation markets such as passenger air taxis. Through flight testing in realistic scenarios and data analysis, it will inform the development of regulatory standards for emerging aviation platforms.

As part of the two-week test at Joby’s Electric Flight Base near Big Sur, CA, the partners will study the acoustic signature of the all-electric Joby aircraft, which the company intends to operate as part of a commercial passenger service beginning in 2024.

“Data from industry leaders like Joby is critical for NASA’s research activities and future standardization of emerging aircraft configurations,” said Davis Hackenberg, NASA AAM mission integration manager. “Industry partnerships are imperative for the U.S. to become a leader in the development of a safe and sustainable AAM ecosystem.”

NASA engineers will deploy their Mobile Acoustics Facility and more than 50 pressure ground-plate microphones in a grid array that allows for multi-directional measurement of the Joby aircraft’s sound emissions. Using the data, NASA and Joby will generate noise hemispheres for the aircraft that capture the intensity and the character of the sound emitted in comparison to helicopters, drones, and other aircraft.

These readings, in combination with the noise profile of urban communities, can be used to verify how proposed aircraft operations will blend into the existing background noise. Once testing is complete, a team of acoustic experts from NASA and Joby will work together to analyze the data before sharing their findings later in the year.

“It’s incredibly exciting to be the first eVTOL company to fly as part of the AAM National Campaign, leading the way toward a more sustainable future,” said JoeBen Bevirt, Founder and CEO at Joby. “From day one, we prioritized building an aircraft that not only has an extremely low noise profile but blends seamlessly into the natural environment. We have always believed that a minimal acoustic footprint is key to making aviation a convenient part of everyday movement without compromising quality of life”

Joby’s participation in the National Campaign marks the next step in a long history of collaboration between the two parties. Over the last decade, Joby has worked with NASA on a range of projects that explored electric propulsion including a long-endurance eVTOL demonstrator called Lotus, the Leading Edge Asynchronous Propeller Technology (LEAPTech) project, and the design of the X-57 Maxwell experimental aircraft now undergoing systems integration testing. A blog post detailing the history of Joby’s partnership with NASA was previously published on Joby’s company website.

Joby started in 2009 as a small team of seven engineers who worked out of “The Barn,” a workshop in the mountains above Santa Cruz, CA. There, the team explored the frontiers of technologies like electric motors, flight software, and lithium-ion batteries—engineering almost every component from the ground up.

In 2010, Joby publicly released its Monarch design, a single-seat electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft with a planned range of 100 mi (160 km) at a cruise speed of 100 mph (160 km/h). Employing a tilting wing with eight motors and propellers, it was similar in concept to Greased Lightning, one of many eVTOL configurations explored by NASA researchers over the following years, which led to the first of many joint aircraft design projects.

With a maximum range of 150 mi (241 km), recently demonstrated during flight testing, and a top speed of 200 mph (322 km/h), Joby’s current aircraft is designed to carry four passengers and a pilot with zero operating emissions. With more than 1000 flight tests completed and full-scale prototypes in the air since 2017, Joby Aviation aims to certify its electric air taxi with the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) in 2023.

In July, Joby announced it had taken the first step towards building the first eVTOL airline, by beginning the process to receive a Part 135 Air Carrier Certificate issued by the FAA to operate its aircraft as an air taxi service in the U.S. Alongside a Type Certificate and Production Certificate, this is one of three regulatory approvals critical to the planned launch of Joby’s all-electric aerial ridesharing service in 2024.

“We’re excited to reach this milestone on the path toward becoming the first eVTOL airline in the world,” said Bonny Simi, Joby’s Head of Air Operations. “We look forward to working closely with the FAA as we prepare to welcome passengers to a new kind of air travel—one that is environmentally friendly, quiet enough to operate close to cities and communities, and will save people valuable time.”

The Joby prototype eVTOL is powered by six propellers that tilt to enable vertical takeoff and efficient cruise flight. The number of blades, blade radius, tip speeds, and disk loading of the aircraft were all selected to minimize the acoustic footprint and improve the character of the noise produced. The propellers can also individually adjust their tilt, rotational speed, and blade pitch, helping to avoid the blade vortex interactions that cause the “wop wop” sound normally associated with traditional helicopters.

Check out these Joby videos showcasing the company’s work in keeping its aircraft quiet during take-off, hover, and overhead flight.