Joby Aviation today announced it has completed a landmark series of major aerostructure tests for certification credit with the Federal Aviation Administration. Joby has successfully completed static load testing of the tail structure, marking the first time the company has tested a major aerostructure of its aircraft for-credit with FAA representatives present, according to a company press release. The tests took place in Santa Cruz, CA, as part of a testing campaign covering all of the structures, components, and systems on the aircraft, producing data that is required for FAA type certification of the aircraft.
“Completing for-credit static load testing on a major aircraft structure marks an important step towards certification of the Joby aircraft and we’re very pleased with the results. Reaching this milestone is the culmination of years of hard work across the engineering, testing, certification, and manufacturing teams at Joby,” said Didier Papadopoulos, President of Aircraft OEM at Joby.
During the tests, Joby engineers applied loads to the aircraft’s tail structure that far exceed the maximum forces the structure is expected to experience during flight. The FAA-conforming tail structure used in the test, along with the test procedure, instrumentation, and applied loads, are outlined in Joby’s certification documents, which have been approved by the FAA as part of the certification process.
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https://www.jobyaviation.com/news/joby-completes-first-faa-testing-major-aerostructure/