Joby Aviation appears to have conducted an almost-9-hr. flight of a previously unknown hydrogen-electric-powered uncrewed aircraft.
Conducted at the Pendleton UAS Range in Oregon on June 30, the flight was first reported by Hunterbrook Media, the investigative reporting arm of Hunterbrook Capital, which photographed the aircraft being worked on by ground crew at Pendleton Airport.
FlightAware tracked the aircraft as it flew a racetrack pattern over the range. The record was subsequently removed and public tracking of the aircraft is no longer available at the owner’s request, FlightAware says. Joby declined to comment.
Joby acquired autonomous flight system developer Xwing in June 2024, and in the photographs Xwing’s clearly marked mobile ground control station is visible parked next to the aircraft undergoing work at Pendleton Airport.
The FAA registry says the aircraft, tail number N30FR, was manufactured by Joby Aero Inc. and is designated the JAI30. The certificate of registration, issued on April 22, says the aircraft has two electric engines and is the first of its type.
Photographs taken by Hunterbrook show an aircraft with a high sailplane-style wing and two-blade propellers mounted on the tips of a V-tail–reminiscent of the V-tail tilt prop mounting on Joby’s S4 eVTOL aircraft.
Joby has previously hinted it intends to address emerging Defense Department needs for longer-range uncrewed and crewed aircraft by building on its experience modifying an S4 prototype to hybrid hydrogen-electric propulsion.
Dubbed the SHy4, the aircraft conducted a 561-mi. uncrewed test flight in July 2024, powered by batteries and a liquid hydrogen fuel cell system developed with Joby’s German subsidiary H2Fly. This compares with the 100-mi. design range of the battery-powered S4 eVTOL.
Photographs of the JAI30 on the ground show a conventional-takeoff-and-landing (CTOL) aircraft with a simple tubular frame structure, the fuselage possibly covered with plastic film for light weight. This suggests it is a testbed rather than being fully representative of a production vehicle.
The aircraft’s nose has been removed, revealing the tubular structure and elements of the propulsion system including what appears to be the fuel cell stack as well as a large hydrogen tank mounted in the center of the boxy fuselage under the wing.
The tail-mounted propeller was developed by the University of Stuttgart in Germany for its E-Genius electric-powered motor glider. This arrangement leaves the wing clear of propeller wash for maximum aerodynamic efficiency. The propellers are in undistributed air, for improved efficiency, and only the lower blades cross the tails, reducing drag.