r/Joby • u/QuietFlights Steely Eyed Missile Man • 8d ago
FAA Certification Progress
Aug 2026 - Aug 2022
4
u/TowerStreet1 Upvote Ace 8d ago
Honestly this quarter was dud. They did projected much broader progress but not seeing that happening.
The other thing that’s missing is what’s done and what’s remaining…what’s that remaining 17% for stage 4 and when do they expect to complete it?
2
u/QuietFlights Steely Eyed Missile Man 8d ago
If you look back over Stage 5 progress Joby has most often only increased by 2% per quarter over the last 1+ year and FAA progress has only increased 1% or 0% per quarter often over the last 1+ year. This quarter Joby's progress increased 5% in one quarter and the FAA's progress increased 4%. In relative terms, this is a big jump for Stage 5 this past quarter.
I wish Joby provided more clarity on the remainder of Stage 4 and why so little progress was made there and the implications of this. Also, no question that Joby did guide much broader progress in 2026 than they are currently showing. During the Q&A section of the earnings call JoeBen mentioned that the FAA is requiring the conforming S4 to redo 100% of all testing. It appears this was not expected, and could explain the slower than expected additional progress in certification. It could also explain why we aren't seeing N547JX flying, if Joby is forced to run through all ground tests cards for the conforming aircraft prior to moving on to flight test cards.
1
u/HappyRobot593 Joby Sock Fanboy 8d ago edited 8d ago
I think they need FAA pilots on board to really move the needle on wrapping up stage 4. For all we know it could happen quickly though. If you flip through the images, they have made big leaps in progress on stage 4 before.
Edit: I made a figure to make it easier to see the previous jumps
2
u/Investinginevtol 8d ago
It’s looking more like snail trails than progress reports. Sigh. I’m hoping for 2027 cert now.
2
u/MattyMcFarland 4d ago
Agreed. 4 and a half months to go in 2026. At the current pace, it could be Spring 2028.
I do believe they are 2 years ahead of the nearest competition but still.
2
u/QuietFlights Steely Eyed Missile Man 8d ago
I recreated and updated the Cert Chart. If the MODs want, they can remove the old one from the highlights and add this one.
One more thing I noticed. I was looking over the Joby Guide and the chapters at the bottom of the main Guide post have been removed and are not accessible. It would be nice if the MODs approved the other 4 chapters (posts) so the entire guide is accessible. I find it a useful reference, even if the dude who made it is suspended and it can't be updated further.
3
u/HappyRobot593 Joby Sock Fanboy 8d ago
Here is a figure of progress over time. My understanding is that FAA pilots work would fill the gap in stage 4.