Joby announced plans last September to build up to 500 air taxis each year at a factory near Dayton International Airport, at 3571 Concorde Drive.
The charger will be part of what Joby calls its Global Electric Aviation Charging System (GEACS).
The GEACS charger — which is being used at Joby’s flight test center in Marina, Calif. and at Edwards Air Force Base — supports all electric aircraft under development today, including Joby’s battery-powered flying craft, the company said.
Joby says its aircraft can fly up to 100 miles, carrying a pilot and four passengers at speeds of up to 200 mph, with dramatically lower noise than today’s helicopters.
Joby’s charging system was created for electric aircraft, and the company has made the specifications available to the wider industry.
In 2022, Joby announced it was working with Delta Air Lines to enable airport trips for its customers across several locations, including Los Angeles.
“Today’s announcement marks a key moment on the path to delivering our air taxi service in the Greater Los Angeles area,” JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby, said in a release. “We’re taking concrete steps to ensure the right infrastructure is in place to support our future service and we’re grateful to be working with an industry pioneer like Clay Lacy Aviation to lead the way on bringing sustainable aviation to Southern California.”
Last September, AFWERX — the Air Force program researching flying cars — and Joby competitor BETA Technologies broke ground on the first electric aircraft charging station on a military installation at Duke Field, Fla.
The Air Force calls the vehicles eVTOL aircraft, short for “electric electric vertical takeoff and landing” craft. The service has explored using the craft for medical evacuation, firefighting, civil and military disaster relief and other uses.
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