Joby showcases its low noise credentials
Pictures: Joby Aviation
There’s a lot of buzz (pun intended) around the emerging eVTOL industry.
One of the key selling points of this new technology is that, when it comes to mobility, it affords unprecedented flexibility for short haul movements: faster and more convenient than land transportation, cheaper than a helicopter.
But, even if the promising electric propulsion technology delivers the goods, what about noise? Helicopters are, perhaps, the closest referent and they are notoriously noisy, which is (in addition to cost) a major limiting factor in the sort of urban areas where eVTOLs may have their primary markets. This is a point, for example, that the guys at the AvTalk podcast (Flightradar24’s podcast) discussed extensively in this interesting interview with Elan Head, editorial director of Evtol.com.
How quiet are eVTOLs going to be?
Well, Joby Aviation at least has an answer to this. The Californian startup (which is backed by several prominent investors such as Linkedin’s founder Reid Hoffman and JetBlue TechnologyVentures) has released a series of videos in which it showcases the low noise profile of its aircraft.
Joby’s founder JoeBen Bevirt goes as far as saying that noise is going to be the factor defining the success or failure of the nascent eVTOL industry. He next proceeds to demonstrate how at 56dB, Joby’s aircraft in hover mode are significantly quieter than helicopters.
But this is not all, because Joby has also run a demonstration, with two propeller aircraft, three helicopters flying over the same noise sensors as one of its eVTOLs.
Can you guess who came on top (or we should rather say at the bottom of the noise scale)?
Pretty impressive, isn’t it?
Joby’s foothold in the East Coast
In any case, it will take some work to convince both residents of communities where overflights may take place as well as the regulators. This is perhaps the reason that Joby is also opening an office in Washington DC, complete with fight simulator (see image below), that I guess will come in handy when time comes to show lawmakers and any other interested parties how quiet Joby’s aircraft is.
