Opener Aero, the company behind the BlackFly personal eVTOL aircraft, is rebranding and introducing its first production aircraft. Now operating under the name Pivotal, the California-based company is getting ready to begin accepting orders for its first scalable production vehicle, called Helix, in early 2024.
Just like the BlackFly, the Helix is a single-seat, fly-by-wire eVTOL aircraft designed for recreational use and short-hop travel. The design features two 14-foot cantilevered tandem wings mounted on the front and rear of a small fuselage, with four electric propellers mounted onto each wing. With this so-called “tilt-aircraft” architecture, the entire aircraft tilts to transition between hover and cruise.
The next-generation Helix vehicle looks a lot like the BlackFly but comes with several upgraded features, including a newly optimized aerostructure with a redesigned canopy and flight deck. Pivotal says it has updated some of the electronics and improved the power and propulsion elements to deliver “a more robust operational flight envelope.” The company is also introducing a mobile app that it says will simplify pre-flight checks, record flight data, and manage charging and maintenance.
“Helix presents the next iteration of 10+ years of innovating, testing, and delivering on the promise to give individuals access to small, yet mighty aircraft,” said Pivotal CEO Ken Karklin. “The new identity shows the versatility of our system architecture and encapsulates both the exhilaration and utility of flight.”
The company did not publish any updated specifications for the Helix, but it has previously stated that the pre-production BlackFly model would have a range of around 20 miles (32 kilometers) on a single charge, a top speed of 62 mph (100 kph), and a payload capacity of 230 pounds (104 kilograms). Safety features include redundant flight controls, a ballistic parachute, and floats that allow the vehicle to land on water in case of an in-flight emergency.
A Pivotal spokesperson told AIN that the company has already designed and built its first Helix prototype, and the final version will go into production in early 2024.
Pivotal says it will officially begin taking orders for the Helix on January 9, and it will begin shipping the aircraft to customers on June 10. The vehicle will have a base price of $190,000, and a 25 percent down payment is required to reserve a delivery slot. Pivotal has not yet revealed what additional options or accessories will be available for the Helix.
Because Pivotal’s vehicles are designed to comply with the FAA’s Part 103 rules for ultralight aircraft, operators are not required to have a pilot’s license. However, Pivotal is still requiring all of its customers to attend an FAA-approved ground school and complete a training course at the company’s Palo Alto facilities.
First BlackFly Deliveries Underway
Although Pivotal is not taking any orders for the BlackFly, the company has begun delivering a limited number of the pre-production aircraft to customers participating in an early access program. Through that program, Pivotal intends to deliver 12 BlackFly vehicles to 12 customers who were specially selected to provide feedback on the user experience.
“We're looking for certain pioneering spirits and also a broad cross-section of humanity—pilots, non-pilots, male, female people of different cultures and unique skill sets that bring some added value,” Greg Lary, Pivotal’s head of sales and customer experience, told AIN.
Pivotal has so far selected six of the 12 participants for the early access program, and it is in the process of making deliveries and training owners on how to operate it. A company spokesperson told AIN that Pivotal has already begun generating some revenue via the early access program.
The first BlackFly delivery went to Tim Lum, who brought it to the Pacific Airshow in Huntington Beach, California for a public flight demonstration last week. According to Lary, this made Lum the first owner of a recreational eVTOL to fly at an airshow.
The BlackFly made its public debut in July 2021 at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and it returned to the airshow for more flight demonstrations in 2022. Last week Pivotal conducted a flight demonstration with the BlackFly in Marina, California, for attendees at the annual Airtaxi World Congress.
