Angelenos love to hate the busy parking garage at the Grove (we’ve always unabashedly liked it for its surprisingly scenic rooftop views). But what if you could skip the pay station and hunt-for-parking hassle—by flying on top of it?
That scenario could become a reality sooner than you think (and we’ll say upfront here, you’re going to see a lot of “coulds” in this story). On Wednesday, the Santa Cruz-based company Joby Aviation showed off its electric, vertical-takeoff-and-landing–capable aircraft at the Grove, which it hopes to use as a helipad for its forthcoming flying taxi network.
If you happen to be reading this on September 26, then you can head over to the Grove right now (until 9pm) and take a seat in the cockpit of the aircraft, which will be parked just behind the shopping center’s familiar fountain for the rest of the day.
You’ll immediately notice the aircraft’s six electric motors, which can tilt as it transitions from takeoff to cruising. Inside, you’ll find room for four passengers and a pilot. The aircraft is capable of traveling at speeds of up to 200mph and as far as 100 miles; a flight from LAX to DTLA would be a mere eight-minute ride. As far as getting back up in the sky, the aircraft can recover the charge from a 25-mile trip (about the distance between DTLA and Disneyland) after being plugged in for six minutes.
According to JoeBen Bevirt, Joby’s founder and CEO, the aircraft are also considerably more quiet than helicopters. During a preview event, he explained how helicopters have a low frequency thud that travels long distances and shakes buildings. Joby’s vehicles, by comparison, have a higher frequency that he compared to “more like the whoosh of the wind through the trees.” Indeed, the company had listening stations set up so that you could simulate the noise difference between these electric vehicles and a traditional helicopter or plane—though notably those sounds were pegged at an altitude of 1,500 feet and not during takeoff or landing, which would presumably sound a bit louder to those nearby.
This isn’t the first company to recently outline its flying taxi plans for L.A.: This summer, Archer Aviation unveiled the nine vertiports that could anchor its similar network. Joby, on the other hand, hasn’t released any such map, but it has boasted both LAX and the Grove—specifically the rooftop of its parking garage—as potential destinations.
In fact, the shopping center’s owner Rick Caruso was on hand to promote the possibility last night. “I am very, very convinced that not too distant in the future, you’re going to be landing on top of the Grove parking structure,” he said, before outlining a scenario where you’d go shopping, maybe head to a meeting and then fly off to—where else?—his Rosewood Miramar Beach property in Montecito.
To do all of that, the company says that you’ll be able to book experiences through the Joby, Delta or Uber smartphone apps (in fact, Joby now owns Uber Elevate, which you may remember had its own flying taxi plans some years ago). It envisions that you’ll be able to, say, take an Uber to the Grove, get on a Joby aircraft to LAX and board a Delta flight, all through a single user flow.
Of course, there are still a lot of “when” and “where” questions here (and also “how much?”, for which we unfortunately have no answer). Bevirt said that parking garages and heliports will be the most likely takeoff and landing destinations. For heliports on buildings, it’s mostly a matter of permitting; these are currently only designated for emergency use. Traditional helicopters output exhaust, and most rooftop helipads are right next to the air conditioning inlets that would suck in all of those fumes—but Joby’s electric aircraft has no emissions.
And as for the “when,” Bevirt said that Joby’s vehicle is currently in stage four (of five) of FAA certification. The company has previously floated 2025 as a goal to begin service, and Bevirt’s remarks last night echoed a similarly ambitious target. “This is coming, it’s coming soon,” he said. “We have incredible milestone events like the World Cup in 2026 and the Olympics in 2028. And we need to have a full network of takeoff and landing locations built out in time for those events.” (We’d also just be satisfied with, you know, some more trains and buses by then—on which work is already underway.)