Joby Aviation has begun wind tunnel testing with one of its eVTOL aircraft propellers at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California, the company announced on Thursday. The tests are taking place inside the National Full-Scale Aerodynamic Complex (NFAC), which is the world’s largest wind tunnel facility.

The NFAC is managed by the U.S. Air Force’s Arnold Engineering Development Complex and contains two of the largest operational wind tunnels in the world. These wind tunnels have been used to test the aerodynamic performance of a variety of aircraft, such as the V-22 Osprey, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, and even NASA’s space shuttles.

The larger of the two NFAC wind tunnels measure 80 feet by 120 feet (24 by 37 meters) and is large enough to test full-scale aircraft, whereas most other wind tunnels are used to test smaller scale models. Joby is using the smaller of the two NFAC wind tunnels, which measures 40 feet by 80 feet (12 by 24 meters), to test the performance of its electric propellers.

Joby, which is headquartered in Santa Cruz, California, is developing a four-seat eVTOL aircraft for commercial air taxi services as well as military uses. It will be the first company to test an eVTOL aircraft component in the NFAC, according to Joby.

“Testing is a critical part of our aircraft program, and the opportunity to gather data on the performance of our propellers in one of the world’s largest wind tunnels is an exciting step toward commercialization,” said Joby founder and CEO JoeBen Bevirt. “This facility helped introduce historic aircraft to the world, and now it’s doing the same for the next generation of sustainable aviation.”

During Joby’s wind tunnel testing campaign, the company will subject its production-intent electric propulsion unit and propeller assembly to a full range of wind speeds while testing its performance at multiple different angles of tilt. Joby’s eVTOL aircraft has six tilting propellers that can articulate to provide either horizontal or vertical thrust, or a combination of both. Instruments will be mounted on the five-bladed propeller to measure the loads experienced during rotation. The wind tunnel testing campaign is slated to continue for several months.

Data from the wind tunnel tests will provide Joby with “consistent and high-fidelity data on the performance, loads, and acoustics of its propeller systems,” according to Joby. That data will then help to inform Joby’s certification program with the FAA. Earlier this month, Joby announced that it had completed the second of five stages of its certification process with the FAA’s approval of its means of compliance, a document that spells out exactly how the company plans to comply with all the safety rules that were defined in its certification basis. The company also announced earlier this week that it had begun assembling the first “company-conforming” version of its four-passenger eVTOL aircraft.

In this article

Joby Aviation

AIN Products

SUBSCRIPTIONS

RESOURCES

ABOUT AIN