Urban air mobility (UAM) company Joby Aviation announced on Wednesday that it will be outfitting its all-electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft with the Garmin G3000 integrated flight deck. According to Garmin, the touchscreen G3000 system will be adapted for Joby’s eVTOL “to optimize their air mobility service” along with facilitating future systems upgrades that might be necessary as the UAM segment evolves. Joby is planning for the aircraft to begin commercial operations in 2024.
“Garmin looks forward to continuing our extensive history of proven success in introducing innovative avionics technologies aligned with our vision for urban air mobility and the broader aviation industry,” said Garmin executive vice president and managing director for aviation Phil Straub. “We are confident the G3000 will ultimately help Joby provide advanced, efficient, and scalable air taxi services for years to come.”
Joby also confirmed that it is pursuing FAA certification of its eVTOL under Part 23 requirements with the addition of a G-1 document defining “special conditions introduced to address requirements specific to Joby’s unique aircraft.” The details of those conditions are expected to be published in the Federal Register in the next several months. The unnamed eVTOL, which has completed more than 1000 test flights, is expected to seat a pilot plus four passengers while offering 150-mile range and top speed of 200 MPH.
That’s a heck of a lot of avionics for what is basically a very short haul VFR-only aircraft.
My thoughts, Exactly!
That is a lot of avionics but remember these are going to be highly automated aircraft that will most likely will be flown on predesignated routes around a city. For example a city center to a eVTOL landing pad near your house (think highway in the sky). The aircraft will fly route that is basically a RNP approach from takeoff to landing. This will aid in avoiding towers and tall building because these aircraft will be flying at a lower altitude. Also there is a good chance in the future the person will have some type of rating only to fly the eVTOL and not a normal commercial license. VFR only is only the first step and my guess IFR will be something we see in the future. You will need something like the G3000 to fly in this environment.
If you automate the thing, you won’t have a cockpit. Thus, NO traditional avionics or flight instrumentation.
Sort of. You might be able to delete the display screens, but you still need a GPS receiver and an AHRS and an air data computer.
Which amounts to a firecracker in contrast to the G3000 nuclear bomb.
That will surely compensate for the planned, but still missing breakthrough in the performance department.
I want to know how well it autorotates.