NASA operated the first test flight with Joby Aviation's all-electric eVTOL aircraft as part of the agency's national Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) campaign. These tests run until Friday, September 10, at the Joby Aviation base in California.
This is the first time NASA has tested an eVTOL aircraft as part of the campaign. In the future, eVTOL aircraft could serve as air taxis for the busiest cities and surrounding areas, adding another mode of transport for the movement of people and goods.
NASA's goal was to collect vehicle performance and acoustic data for use in modeling and simulating future concepts of airspace. This test will help identify gaps in current Federal Aviation Administration regulations and policies to help incorporate AAM aircraft into the National Airspace System.
The AAm campaign will take place in several locations over several years.
During this round of testing, NASA collected data from Joby's eVTOL aircraft. With the data obtained, NASA will prepare the national AAM campaign to run the first set of tests, known as the NC-1, scheduled for 2022, with more complex flight scenarios and other vehicles in the industry.
The team implemented the mobile acoustic installation and installed over 50 microphones to measure the acoustic profile of the aircraft in different phases of the flight. Another element of the testing included ensuring that external intervals participating in NC-1 follow protocols for future testing by establishing a baseline for participation.
When fully integrated into the national airspace, the AAM will provide an efficient and accessible system for the transport of passengers and goods and can be used for other purposes, such as package delivery drones, air taxis and medical transport vehicles.
AAM is an aviation system that encompasses the development and conduct of aviation in innovative ways. The AAM National Campaign is managed by NASA's Advanced Air Mobility project, which aims to be a community catalyst for the development and validation of system-wide concepts and solutions for AAM.