2 Flying Taxi Companies Get FAA OK for Maintenance

Two eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) air taxi companies have received federal authorization to perform selective maintenance activities on their flying vehicles.

Archer Aviation and Joby Aviation both received Part 145 certification from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which lays the foundation for both electric aerial vehicle (EAV) makers to perform maintenance, repair and overhaul services on the flying taxis once they are certified for commercial operations.

Archer and Joby are among the major flying taxi firms globally.

“This is a major vote of confidence from the FAA on Archer’s promise and potential for operating a full-scale urban air mobility service in cities across the country,” said Adam Goldstein, founder and CEO of Archer. “As we continue to rapidly advance towards commercial operations, we will be working closely with the FAA and regulators around the world to ensure Archer’s aircraft are safe and ready to transform mobility, providing a sustainable, low noise and cost-competitive alternative to decongest our biggest cities.”

Archer recently started construction of the first three of its flying taxi vehicles to be used for the federal approval process. The company is set to begin final assembly for the piloted EAVs, which are aimed at flight testing and subsequent uses in “for credit” flight testing with the FAA.

Related:Flying Taxi Plant Set for Ohio; $500M Investment Planned

Joby’s air taxi is designed to carry a pilot and four passengers and travel at speeds of up to 200 mph.

There also are smaller EAVs being developed, such as those by Volocopter in Germany and EHang in China, both of which are designed to carry one or two people. In the case of EHang, the EAV is designed to fly pilotless.

Most EAVs take off and land straight up and down, eliminating the need for traditional aircraft runways.

Both Archer and Joby have been working on developing their flying vehicles for years. The first commercial use is expected in 2025 or 2026, pending all the required FAA approvals.

Joby recently selected Dayton, Ohio, as the location to build facilities to deliver up to 500 flying vehicles a year.

Archer manufacturing is set to be done in Covington, Georgia.