It may well have been the most understated yet profoundly symbolic attraction of the entire day. On a bright and cloudless Saturday afternoon, spectators gathered in Monterey County witnessed a quiet revolution in aerospace innovation. In a moment that blended history with futuristic promise, Joby Aviation and Archer Aviation—two pioneering companies headquartered in California and devoted to the development of electric vertical take-off and landing vehicles, or eVTOLs (pronounced “ee-vee-tols”)—presented their aircraft in public flight demonstrations for the very first time at the California International Airshow.
Each of the demonstration flights, which lasted roughly ten minutes, concluded almost as gently as they began, accompanied only by a faint whisper of mechanical sound—a mere hum, rather than the deafening roar one typically associates with helicopters or jets. The faint murmur of the vehicles was nearly drowned out by the soft buzz of conversation among the onlookers. “This is the future,” declared the announcer over the loudspeakers, prompting the audience to listen carefully, suggesting that truly hearing the nearly silent machines would itself be a challenge. That near-silence, as he implied, is not an incidental feature but one of the most important advantages these companies hope to bring to market.
For both Joby and Archer, quiet operation and environmental responsibility form the bedrock of their vision for transforming urban transportation. Their ambition is to introduce an aerial ride-share system in densely populated cities—an air-based equivalent to app-based car services. However, instead of gasoline-powered vehicles, passengers would be whisked through the air in zero-emission, all-electric aircraft. These sleek and technologically advanced machines, often referred to as “flying taxis,” promise to combine the convenience of on-demand travel with the sustainability and efficiency that modern cities increasingly demand.
To make such a vision practical and publicly acceptable, two concerns dominate the design philosophy: noise and safety. As Didier Papadopoulos, Joby’s president of aircraft original equipment manufacturing, explained to Business Insider during the airshow, the company’s propulsion technology generates what he described as a soft “whoosh.” That nuanced sound profile allows the aircraft to blend almost imperceptibly into the existing acoustic environment of a city, avoiding the sharp, intrusive noise typically associated with aerial vehicles. Achieving this auditory subtlety is critical to ensuring that future fleets of airborne taxis can operate above neighborhoods without causing undue disturbance.
Yet, beyond public perception, the industry faces formidable structural challenges. The field of eVTOL aviation is both capital-intensive and rigorously regulated. Any company seeking to operate such aircraft in the United States must undergo a series of meticulous tests and secure multiple certifications from the Federal Aviation Administration, demonstrating that its designs meet strict standards of safety and reliability.
Joby Aviation, which first began operations in 2009, has already articulated an ambitious roadmap. The company has announced its intention to begin carrying passengers as early as 2026, with initial operations expected to launch in Dubai, one of the world’s leading hubs for transportation innovation. Archer Aviation, though younger with only seven years of history, is no less ambitious. In May, it revealed a partnership with the organizers of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, aiming to provide short-range air transport for VIP guests and fans. The plan envisions ferrying passengers between major hubs such as Los Angeles International Airport and iconic venues like the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, dramatically reducing travel time and congestion during the event.
While a representative from Archer was unavailable for comment during the airshow weekend, their demonstration nonetheless attracted significant interest. Joby made its entrance by completing an eight-mile journey from the Marina Municipal Airport to the event site in Salinas, just south of the San Francisco Bay Area—a symbolic preview of the kind of short, efficient transit its aircraft is designed to provide. Observers also noted Joby’s sophisticated mock display, which showcased the technological intricacies of its design.
The Joby aircraft incorporates six tilting propellers capable of rotating mid-flight, a configuration that enables it to transition smoothly from vertical takeoff to forward flight. This flexibility also allows the vehicle to hover steadily when required, an ability particularly important in urban environments. During its 10-minute demonstration, the vehicle impressed spectators by executing a precise 540-degree stationary rotation—a maneuver that underscored both its agility and flight control precision.
A crucial contributor to the aircraft’s quiet operation is the innovative blade design. By using shorter propellers in combination with an all-electric propulsion system, Joby achieves a significant reduction in noise output compared to conventional rotorcraft. As Papadopoulos elaborated, the electric motors generate ample torque at lower rotational speeds, meaning they do not need to spin as rapidly to achieve lift or acceleration. This not only reduces acoustic impact but also enhances efficiency and mechanical stability.
Inside the cockpit, the sophistication continues. Joby’s eVTOL features a highly advanced fly-by-wire control system modeled after that of military fighter jets such as the F-35. Despite its complexity, the system has been designed for intuitive operation. Papadopoulos explained that this intuitive design allows individuals with minimal or no aviation experience to grasp the essentials of controlling the aircraft quite rapidly. In simulator sessions, he noted, most first-time users achieve natural proficiency within about 20 minutes of training—a testament to decades of research by NASA, the U.S. Air Force, and other leading aerospace institutions that contributed foundational technology to the system’s development.
Archer Aviation’s participation at the show offered a complementary perspective on the emerging eVTOL industry. Its aircraft, known as “Midnight,” presented a demonstration of more traditional flight dynamics, taking off from a runway in a conventional manner before lifting into free flight. The Midnight employs twelve propellers in total—six that tilt for maneuverability and six fixed in position—to enable both vertical and horizontal flight. Unfortunately, a full-scale display model of Midnight was not available at the airshow, but the test run was sufficient to give onlookers a sense of its operating principles.
Companies like Joby and Archer share a long-term mission: to make urban air mobility not just feasible, but preferable. Both firms envision transforming short commutes that currently consume significant time into seamless aerial journeys. Archer, for instance, has promoted the idea of reducing travel time between Newark Liberty International Airport and lower Manhattan—a route now monopolized by noisy and expensive helicopter services—to under ten minutes using eVTOL technology. Meanwhile, Papadopoulos emphasized that Joby’s aircraft, though capable of covering up to 150 miles on a single charge, is optimized for shorter, high-frequency routes of approximately 20 to 30 miles, catering to dense urban corridors where ground traffic causes significant delays.
To illustrate the impact of such technology, Papadopoulos shared a personal example. During a recent trip to the Osaka World Expo in Japan, he noted that the journey from the airport to the exhibition site consumed roughly an hour and a half by traditional ground transport. Had an aircraft like Joby’s been available, he remarked, the trip would have taken merely eight minutes—a striking demonstration of how transformative eVTOL travel could become for everyday mobility, business logistics, and even tourism.
In sum, what unfolded in Monterey County was more than a demonstration of aeronautical progress; it was a vision of a cleaner, quieter, and faster future taking tangible form. Though challenges remain—in regulation, infrastructure, and public trust—the near-silent hum that graced the California skies may one day become the sound of urban transport’s next great evolution.
Sourse: https://www.businessinsider.com/joby-archer-aviation-evtol-flying-taxis-first-us-public-airshow-2025-10
