Joby submits area-specific certification plan for type certification

As of March 22, Joby Aviation Inc. (Santa Cruz, Calif., U.S.) has submitted its first area-specific certification plan to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), believed to be an industry first.

The plan, which is the first of several that Joby will be required to submit, brings the company one step closer to receiving type certification (TC) for its composite aircraft, laying out the combination of design reports, analysis and testing that it will employ to demonstrate compliance with rigorous FAA safety standards for one functional area of the aircraft.

“This milestone is the result of many years of hard work by both the Joby team and the FAA,” Didier Papadopoulos, head of programs and systems at Joby, says. “It’s also another indication of the great momentum we have on the certification front. With more than two thirds of our means of compliance now agreed with the FAA, we’re looking forward to maintaining that momentum with the submission of further certification plans in the near future.”

The certification plan submitted earlier the same week is focused on cabin safety, comprising the integrity of materials, seats and occupant restraints used in the interior of the aircraft.

In February 2022, Joby announced it had completed its first series of FAA conformity tests to confirm the material strength of the composite material comprising the aerostructure of the aircraft.