Joby Aviation is to locate its first scaled eVTOL production facility in Ohio, with plans to build 500 aircraft per year at the site.
The Joby facility will be at Dayton International Airport, and will support up to 2,000 jobs. The 140-acre site it has selected has the potential to support significant further growth over time, providing enough land to build up to two million square feet of manufacturing space.
Construction is expected to start in 2024 and it is expected to come online in 2025. Joby plans to use existing nearby buildings to begin operations in the near-term.
Ohio aviation history
The Wright Brothers, who invented and flew the first powered aircraft, lived and worked in Dayton and opened the first airplane factory in the United States there in 1910.
The city is also home to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, and the headquarters of the US Air Force Research Laboratories which has played a key role in supporting Joby’s development.
“We’re building the future of aviation right where it all started, in Dayton, Ohio,” said JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby.
“The Wright Brothers harnessed revolutionary technology of their time to open up the skies, and we intend to do the same — this time, bringing quiet and emissions-free flight that we hope will have an equally profound impact on our world.
Joby plans to start hiring in the coming months, with early roles expected to focus on the build out of the scaled facility and the machining of parts that will initially be incorporated into Joby’s California low-volume production line.
Joby’s production aircraft is designed to transport a pilot and four passengers at speeds of up to 200 mph, with a maximum range of 100 mile.
The company plans to operate these aircraft as part of aerial ridesharing networks in cities and communities around the world, starting in 2025, building on partnerships it has developed with Delta and Uber.
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