In a recent test flight, the Joby S4 Air Taxi eVTOL reached a record of 205 mph
Joby Aviation has achieved the fastest speed ever recorded by an electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft with their Joby S4 Air Taxi eVTOL. The S4 reached speeds of 205 mph (330 kph), making it the fastest eVTOL to date.
The Joby S4 Air Taxi eVTOL is powered by six electric motors and has enough capacity for four passengers and one pilot. The company has stated that their electric air taxi can achieve a mileage range of more than 150 on just a single charge. Earlier last year in July 2021, Joby’s full-size prototype achieved the longest test flight in its class by traveling over 154 miles (247 kilometers) and staying in the air for more than 77 minutes.
With the new benchmark, Joby Aviation has now surpassed their own claim of a max speed of 200 mph (322 kph) for the Joby S4 Air Taxi eVTOL. Although there hasn’t been any footage released, there were a number of flight tests performed throughout last week prior to the record breaking test. The S4 reached 186 mph (299 kph) on January 18th, then 190 mph (305 kph), 198 mph (318 kph), and ultimately 205 mph on January 20th. Check out Joby Aviation’s announcement in the tweet below.
Achievement unlocked — speed! At 205 mph true airspeed, our first pre-production aircraft just completed what we believe to be the fastest flight of an eVTOL aircraft to date.
Next stop: 10,000 feet! pic.twitter.com/X9Lmb2OEzp
— Joby Aviation (@jobyaviation) January 21, 2022
The S4 has been in production for a decade and was designed to help people get around congested cities and rural towns. Joby Aviation‘s eventual goal with the Joby S4 Air Taxi eVTOL is to “save one billion people an hour each day,” stated Head of Product, Eric Allison. According to their tweet, Joby is now working on reaching a maximum height of 10,000 feet (3,048 meters) after more than 1,000 test flights with the S4.
It’s almost been a full calendar year since Joby merged with Reinvent Technology Partners in a combined equity of $6.6 billion. After receiving FAA approval, Joby plans to debut commercially in the United States by 2024.