Joby on Monday announced that it broke ground on the expansion of its pilot production line in Marina. The expansion will “more than double” its manufacturing footprint at the Marina Municipal Airport and is expected to begin operations next year, the company said.
Joby said it also showcased its second production prototype aircraft Monday, which recently rolled off the company’s California production line. The aircraft is expected to join Joby’s first prototype at Edwards Air Force Base later this year.
Two additional aircraft are in final assembly, the company said.
The expanded facility is designed to support a target production rate of 25 aircraft per year, Joby said.
However, in early March, Joby said it acquired an existing facility at Dayton International Airport and begun hiring in support of its initial manufacturing operations at the airport.
The Dayton facility acquired by Joby will be fitted out to support initial manufacturing operations in Dayton, which are expected to begin later this year.
Joby Aviation said in March it will turn the approximately 204,385-square-foot former postal facility into a high-tech manufacturing center where it will produce aircraft parts to support the company’s pilot production line in California.
“Later this year, we expect to begin subtractive manufacturing of titanium and aluminum aircraft parts as we continue to grow our workforce in Dayton,” Didier Papadopoulos, president of aircraft OEM at Joby, said in March.
Joby’s acquisition of the Dayton on-airport facility is the first step “in the company’s plan to develop facilities capable of building up to 500 aircraft per year ... which is expected to include the design and construction of a larger greenfield factory,” Joby said.
Joby made aviation history on Sept. 18 last year by unveiling plans to build a Dayton manufacturing facility to make electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles (eVTOL) — sometimes called “flying cars” or “flying taxis.”
Joby’s local employment could reach 2,000 workers, the state said in September, but recent Montgomery County documents indicate that closer to 1,200 jobs are expected, at least initially.
Joby also has had a presence at the Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport, which now is the site of the National Advanced Air Mobility Center of Excellence.
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