In Dayton—where the Wright brothers built America’s first airplane factory in 1910—Joby Aviation is preparing to mass-produce electric air taxis. The company plans an Ohio manufacturing expansion tied directly to its Electric Skies Tour, aiming for four eVTOL
RIVERSIDE, Ohio — Near the Wright brothers exhibit at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, the crowd moves on. A few miles away, the Dayton-area factories preparing for a very different kind of aircraft are still taking shape.
More than a century after Wilbur and Orville Wright built America’s first airplane factory in Dayton in 1910, the city that calls itself aviation’s birthplace is now positioning itself as a launch point for electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft—electric air taxis.
California-based Joby Aviation Inc. is preparing to mass-produce eVTOLs in Dayton. In announcing its Ohio manufacturing expansion, the company explicitly invoked the Wright brothers’ legacy in the area, tying the next wave of powered flight to the region’s origin story.
Joby’s chief product officer. Eric Allison. described the choice of location in terms that sounded personal as much as strategic. “That amazing early work that was done to bring powered flight to life is incredibly exciting. ” Allison said. referring to the Wright brothers’ work designing and building their aircraft in Dayton. “It was something we were keenly aware of when we chose the Dayton area in particular as the site for our expansion.”.
Joby has said it acquired a 700. 000-square-foot manufacturing facility in the Dayton area in January. planning to produce four aircraft per month in 2027. The new plant is meant to complement Joby’s existing propeller manufacturing facility at the Dayton International Airport. which has been open since October 2025.
The company’s push also arrives as the U.S. approaches its 250th anniversary, a milestone Dayton leaders and aviation historians see as a fitting backdrop for a new chapter in flight.
The promise, Allison says, is speed and practicality without the noise and emissions of today’s commute options. The company’s electric air taxi is designed to carry a pilot and four passengers at speeds up to 200 mph. with a range of about 150 miles. The ultimate goal is “fast, low-noise, zero-emission transportation,” turning hours-long commutes into trips measured in minutes, Allison said. Costs for the rides have not been determined.
Joby’s credibility campaign is already underway. Allison was referring to the company’s Electric Skies Tour. a nationwide effort demonstrating operational readiness of its all-electric. zero-emission air taxi. Joby completed a piloted electric air taxi flight across San Francisco Bay and around the Golden Gate Bridge in March to kick off the tour. showcasing its aircraft.
Skepticism, he argued, is part of the story.
In framing the tour. Allison drew a line between public doubt faced by the Wright brothers and the skepticism Joby has encountered as eVTOL technology moves toward deployment. “In some ways. kind of philosophically. there are some parallels to the early days of flight and the battles from a public perception perspective that the Wright brothers had to fight. ” Allison said. “That’s part of the reason why we are doing this Electric Skies Tour. We want people to understand that this is real, that it’s coming.”.
Even a short walk through Dayton’s aviation history suggests why the company is banking on the connection. Paul Lockhart, a history professor at Wright State University in Fairborn, Ohio—about eight miles northeast of downtown Dayton—said the region offers more than nostalgia.
“Dayton is a natural place for an industry like Joby’s to thrive because there’s a history and culture of innovation and a community of innovators and engineers here,” Lockhart said.
Lockhart linked that culture to a long list of inventions and manufacturing strength. He said Dayton, around the turn of the 20th century, was home to world-changing technology and generated more patents per capita than any other U.S. city, citing U.S. Patent and Trademark Office records.
Among those inventions were a 1915 electric refrigeration breakthrough by Dayton inventor Alfred Mellowes. who created the first self-contained electric refrigerator in 1915. In 1928, Dayton innovators Charles Kettering and Thomas Midgley Jr. invented Freon, the cooling gas circulating inside air conditioners.
Lockhart also pointed to Dayton industrialist John Patterson, who founded the National Cash Register Co. in 1884. He said that company revolutionized retail and banking by pioneering the mechanical cash register.
During World War I, Lockhart said Kettering and industrialist Edward Deeds formed the Dayton-Wright Airplane Co. with the blessing of Orville Wright, who lent his name to the company. The factory. Lockhart said. became the first factory to manufacture airplanes in the United States. and it grew into one of the leading manufacturers of American military aircraft.
Under Kettering’s leadership, Dayton-Wright developed what Lockhart described as a precursor to modern drones: the Kettering Bug. Designed for the U.S. Army during World War I, the Kettering Bug was an experimental pilotless aerial torpedo made of wood and papier-mâché. Lockhart said it launched from a four-wheeled dolly that ran down a portable track. intended to carry explosives over enemy targets before crashing into them.
“It’s kind of a remarkable idea because essentially it is the first workable drone,” Lockhart said. He also noted that the emergence of drone and drone-related industries for civilian and commercial purposes is a direct outgrowth of technology developed in Dayton.
As aircraft manufacturing shifted after World War I, the region’s role didn’t vanish—it changed. Lockhart said aircraft manufacturing declined in the United States to a modest peacetime industry. then the country rapidly scaled up production during World War II. Dayton, he said, remained a hub for pilot training, research and experimentation.
Wartime experimentation also gave way to a broader military testing foundation. Aimee Maruyama. president and CEO of the National Aviation Hall of Fame. said Wright-Patterson Air Force Base was created in 1945 and remains a center for military aviation innovation. It is home to the Air Force Research Laboratory. where Maruyama said important. groundbreaking aviation research has taken place over the years.
The National Aviation Hall of Fame is co-located with the National Museum of the United States Air Force, with the museum preserving that history with aircraft ranging from early flyers to modern jets and spacecraft.
Maruyama said the Dayton legacy and the infrastructure around the Air Force base and research laboratory continue to shape technologies used today. She pointed to William Barrett. who is being inducted into the aviation hall of fame. saying his research helped shape the modern use of stealth technology. She added that the Air Force research lab continues to drive the materials science and engineering needed to make stealth possible.
Dayton’s influence extends beyond military programs, Maruyama said. “If you think about it, every commercial aircraft, every flight into space has its roots here in Dayton, Ohio.”
That broad sense of continuity shows up even in the local hobby scene. Before the Wright brothers’ story fades into museum walls, the sky still fills with movement over Dayton’s model-aircraft fields.
At the Dayton Wingmasters’ airfield at the rear of the Wegerzyn Gardens park in Dayton, small planes—radio-controlled aircraft—trace patterns overhead. The Wingmasters is a club dedicated to building, designing and flying model aircraft on their own miniature airfield.
Don Kurtz, 76, a former flight instructor who first joined the club in the 1970s, described how different it was in the early days. “In the early days of the club, pilots were still flying aircraft built from scratch or purchased as kits consisting of balsa wood, bamboo, and tissue paper,” he said.
Today, Kurtz said most members fly ready-made planes made from high-density foams or carbon fiber, with motors powered by lithium batteries. He said those aircraft also use flight stabilization technology and real-time telemetry.
“You had to scratch-build a lot of stuff back in the day,” Kurtz said. “Now we just buy them off the shelf, and they make every kind of airplane you would ever want to own. They’re much more advanced and much more durable.”
On a recent sunny afternoon. Kurtz was focused on his aircraft as its electric motor whirred while it lifted gracefully into the air. In the distance, the facilities of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base stretched across the horizon. As his aircraft circled overhead, Kurtz said: “This is more than a hobby. This is about the love of flight.”.
It’s that same fascination with flight, Kurtz said and Dayton’s history suggests, that inspired the Wright brothers and countless aviators who followed—turning powered flight into an indelible feature of American ingenuity and national identity.
Joby’s bet is that those emotions, backed by manufacturing scale, will matter again. “We view this as the next evolution, the next step in the incredible journey that aviation has taken up to this point,” Allison said.
In Dayton, the journey is moving from museum exhibits to production lines—where the next aircraft may look nothing like the Wright Flyer, but the argument for why it belongs in the sky starts in the same place.
Dayton Ohio Joby Aviation eVTOL electric air taxis aviation manufacturing Wright brothers Electric Skies Tour Wright-Patterson Air Force Base stealth technology drone history National Aviation Hall of Fame