Joby hybrid turbine-electric air taxi makes first flight; gov demos set for 2026

Joby hybrid turbine-electric air taxi makes first flight; gov demos set for 2026

The aircraft flew at Joby’s Marina, California, facility on Nov. 7—just three months after the hybrid concept was unveiled.

Joby logs first flight of hybrid VTOL aircraft

Joby Aviation flew its autonomous hybrid electric vertical takeoff and landing demonstrator for the first time last week, the company announced today, completing the feat roughly three months after it initially revealed the aircraft’s concept. The unmanned platform will be produced by Joby primarily for commercial applications, but a militarized version -- equipped for contested logistics, teaming operations with manned aircraft and low-altitude…

Autonomous Electric VTOL Aircraft For US Military Makes Successful First Flight

Joby Aviation has completed the first flight of its new turbine electric autonomous vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, marking a major milestone for next generation hybrid VTOL technology. As reported by Interesting Engineering, the aircraft flew on November 7 at Joby’s test facility in Marina, California. The design builds on Joby’s electric air taxi architecture […] The post Autonomous Electric VTOL Aircraft For US Military Makes Successfu…

Joby Aviation Celebrates First Flight of Turbine Electric Demonstrator Aircraft

Joby Aviation has completed the first flight of its turbine electric, autonomous VTOL aircraft. The demonstrator builds on Joby’s fully-electric air taxi platform and integrates a hybrid turbine powertrain along with the Company’s SuperPilot™ autonomy stack to deliver greater range and payload capability. The start of flight testing comes just three months after Joby announced

Joby Hybrid Aircraft Goes From Concept to First Flight in 3 Months

When electric aircraft developer Joby Aviation in August unveiled its concept for a hybrid-powered, optionally piloted variant of its electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) S4 air taxi, it predicted first flight before the end of 2025. Ultimately, that milestone took just three months. Joby on Thursday said a demonstrator aircraft—an S4 integrated with a turbine-electric powertrain and the company’s proprietary autonomy system—made its ma…