Results from recent NASA-backed flight tests with Joby’s eVTOL prototype demonstrate that noise from the four-passenger air taxi vehicle would be barely audible from city streets below. On May 10, Joby published findings from a two-week trial as part of NASA’s Advanced Air Mobility National Campaign.
During the flights, the Joby aircraft registered the equivalent of 45.2 dBA while cruising at an altitude of 1,640 feet at a speed of 115 mph. Recordings made by NASA engineers also demonstrated an acoustic profile for the aircraft while taking off and landing that was below 65 dBA, which Joby said represented a noise level comparable to a normal conversation at a distance of 330 feet from the flight path.
The measurements were conducted using NASA’s Mobile Acoustics Facility, which has more than 50 pressure ground-plate microphones. These were positioned in a grid array at the facility Joby calls its Electric Flight Base near Big Sur, California.
Joby is working to certify the all-electric aircraft, which has expected range of 150 miles and speeds of up to 200 mph, in time to start commercial air taxi operations in 2024. The company said that, with NASA, it will publish further details of the noise analysis at various industry conferences in the coming months.
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