Pivotal Brings Personal Air Transportation to a New Level with Helix eVTOL

By Carmelo Turdo

The dream of personal air transportation for the masses is coming closer to reality with the availability of electric ultralight aircraft. Along with their general aviation counterparts such as the Pipistrel Velis Electro that recently received an FAA LSA waiver for pilot training in day VFR conditions, FAR Part 103 electric ultralights are striving to offer a practical alternative to their gasoline-powered contemporaries in the recreational flight market. The mainstreaming of electric ultralight aircraft continues to face challenges as manufacturers struggle to balance design factors such as current battery weight and the reliance on carbon-fiber construction with the existing FAA regulations governing this sector of aviation. But significant progress is being made. One company has taken on this challenge, and the results are promising.

Palo Alto, California-based Pivotal has been working on the electric ultralight for nearly fifteen years, developing several uncrewed models on the way to releasing the Blackfly eVTOL in 2023. Today, a GlobeNewswire press release announced the achievement of the 1,000th flight made by a single Blackfly owner, Tim Lum, from the state of Washington. The next iteration of the Blackfly, the Helix, was released this year.

The second Blackfly customer to undergo training at the Pivotal headquarters, Dean Owen, a CPA and financial advisor from Paducah, KY, brought his aircraft to the St. Louis Regional Airport Wings-N-Wheels Fly-In on Saturday. While not a certified pilot, he was one of the first five Early Access Program customers and has adapted well to the personal air transportation concept. He looks forward to upgrading to the Helix in the near future.  

"It is technically an E-V-T-O-L, which stands for electric vertical takeoff and land vehicle," Owen told The Aero Experience. "That's geek-speak, so I call it a flying car 'cause that sounds cool...I am not an aircraft pilot by training. I've never flown a traditional aircraft. I was the second person to do this, and I think part of their attraction was I had no aircraft experience."

Owen began his journey into the eVTOL market with Pivotal about three years ago, and he has high praise for the company, especially the training process and the inherent safety features built into the carbon-fiber aircraft. The Blackfly can fly on six of the eight engines, and the design includes two control sticks, three flight control computers, three GPS units, three pitot tubes, two batteries per engine, an emergency parachute and the ability to land in water. 

The limitations on the aircraft's performance and utility are the 20-mile range (15-20 minutes flight time) and FAA regulations governing the weight limits on ultralights. With the batteries absorbing much of the weight margin in any eVTOL aircraft, there remains a limited opportunity to greatly enhance the range and performance of the Blackfly or Helix with the current battery and powerplant technology.       

But the promise of the eVTOL remains in the future, when the U.S. air traffic system makes room for personal air transportation vehicles and larger air taxi, medical airlift or utility eVTOLS buzzing over rush hour traffic. In the meantime, a new generation of non-certified owner-operators are proving the concept.

Here we include a short video interview with Dean Owen during his visit to St. Louis Regional Airport. For detailed information on the design of the Helix eVTOL, visit the Pivotal website.