Air Taxis in Dayton? An Exclusive Look at the Next Innovation of Flight

MARINA, California — Air taxis are becoming a reality. And Joby Aviation will soon be making them right here in the Miami Valley.

News Center 7′s John Bedell covered the story when Joby announced a move to Dayton at Hawthorn Hill in Oakwood in September 2023.

For the last six months, he’s worked to get rare access to the company to see how its innovative aircraft are being tested.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

TRENDING STORIES:

Earlier this month, Bedell flew across the country with a News Center 7 photojournalist to learn more about the unique job opportunities these futuristic flyers will bring to Dayton.

When our News Center 7 crew arrived at Joby Aviation’s facility in California’s Monterey Bay area, we got to see Joby’s electric air taxis up close.

“It’s pretty exclusive in terms of who actually gets to be inside the buildings here and see what we’re doing and kind of the insider view,” Joby Aviation Chief Product Officer, Eric Allison, told us.

We saw several electric vertical take-off and landing, or eVTOL, aircraft inside the Joby hangar in Marina, California during our visit there earlier this month.

Joby’s eVTOLs take off and land like a helicopter, fly like an airplane, and will carry a pilot and four passengers. “We’re targeting trips up to 100 miles with it,” Allison said.

Allison told News Center 7 that once the aircraft goes to market, you could order a ride through the Uber app or Delta Air Lines’ “Fly Delta” app.

“We’re focusing initially on launching in big markets for both Uber and Delta like Los Angeles and New York City,” Allison said. “But we think there’s an incredible potential all around the country and all around the world for this technology to make daily travel a much more interesting, enjoyable, and fast experience.”

The pricing per seat to start will be about the cost of an Uber Black – basically what you’d pay for a luxury rideshare – with Allison saying pricing is “something that we think we can then drive down over time.”

“So starting somewhere around ‘Uber Black’ pricing per seat,” Allison said. “And then driving down toward ‘Uber X’ pricing over time.”

While News Center 7 was in California with Joby, we witnessed a test flight of a Joby eVTOL air taxi. Officials with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) were at the facility earlier that same day to observe a separate test flight.

Joby officials told WHIO-TV that the low-to-the-ground maneuvering the pilot demonstrated in the test flight we witnessed is important for the FAA’s final approval process.

Everything from the aircraft’s design to production, maintenance, pilot training, and the aircraft itself must meet the FAA’s rigorous safety standards to ensure the aircraft is worthy of carrying paying passengers.

“Just the aircraft design piece is the biggest piece of that certification process,” Allison told News Center 7. “And it’s extremely detailed.”

0 of 28

The Dayton Development Coalition told News Center 7 that they’ve already seen the economic ripple effects of Joby Aviation’s investment in the Miami Valley.

“Them picking Ohio – for us, it’s monumental,” Dayton Development Coalition Executive Vice President of Engagement Dave Burrows said. “We’ve had other companies now contacting us for potential projects. There have been a couple of wins in Ohio …. We feel those are direct results of relationships with companies like Joby …. (And) we feel that we’ve just scratched the surface on the opportunities because of the Joby effect, as we like to call it.”

Joby Aviation wouldn’t talk specifics when News Center 7 pressed about pay ranges for their Dayton jobs. A spokesperson said, “Our comp packages will be competitive with local market compensation.”

But News Center 7 got some insight from state incentives here in Ohio.

JobsOhio closed an agreement with the company last summer for Talent Acquisition Services and a $110 million JobsOhio Economic Development Grant.

Records show that project assistance is tied to commitments from Joby: 2,000 new jobs, $140,566,400 million in new jobs annual payroll, and $477.5 million in capital investment.

On top of that, the Ohio Department of Development Tax Credit Authority approved a Job Creation Tax Credit (JCTC) for Joby with an estimated value of $93 million, a spokesperson for the Ohio Department of Development said.

“The Job Creation Tax Credit is a performance-based credit,” Ohio Department of Development Deputy Chief of Media Relations Mason Waldvogel said. “The actual value of the credits is based on the jobs that are ultimately created and the new payroll that’s generated, which will be subject to state verification. Joby has committed to creating 2,000 full-time equivalent employees generating $140 million in new annual payroll, as well as making a capital investment of $477.5 million by 12/31/2030 at the project location. The company is also required to maintain operations at the project location until 12/31/2058. We are confident Joby will deliver on the commitments it has made to the State of Ohio and look forward to seeing the positive economic impact the company will have on the Miami Valley and beyond. Should Joby – or any company receiving state incentives – fail to meet all of their commitments, the State can pursue available remedies, including terminating agreements and clawing back funds.”

Back in Marina, California, Eric Allison told News Center 7 that Joby has already started refurbishing the building the company bought on the grounds of Dayton International Airport and is “starting the planning to move equipment in there.”

A Joby spokesperson confirmed to WHIO-TV that the company expects to start making air taxi parts at its Dayton facility later this year. And Allison said they have plans to expand production in the Miami Valley.

“We’re certainly looking at (building) components first and we will build out from there,” Allison said. “That’s the vision ultimately: to be able to produce hundreds of aircraft a year out of the set of facilities that we stand up there in the Dayton area.”

Joby Aviation has already started hiring for some of the 2,000 jobs they plan to bring to Dayton.

“We began hiring late last year and intend to increase our Ohio employee count as we begin initial operations,” a Joby spokesperson told News Center 7.

That spokesperson added: “We’ll start by bringing on board our general manager and first few engineers and machine operators, but as we ramp up we’re also going to be looking for manufacturing engineers, quality engineers, production managers, and many more operators for both subtractive and additive manufacturing processes.”

If you’re interested in applying for jobs at Joby’s Dayton facility, you can register your interest here.

News Center 7 will continue to follow the progress of Joby Aviation setting up its manufacturing operations in Dayton.

[SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]