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Pivotal BlackFly Hits a New Aviation Milestone
Pivotal’s BlackFly has become the first eVTOL to log 1,000 piloted flights with a single aircraft — a milestone the company announced at the UP.Summit in Bentonville, Arkansas. The achievement highlights progress in the personal aerial vehicle space at a time when most urban air mobility projects remain in development or limited test phases.
From early flights to real-world use
BlackFly first flew with a pilot aboard back in 2011. The design entered an Early Access Program in 2023, putting 12 units into private hands. Those early users combined for more than 2,000 piloted flights and operations across 100-plus U.S. locations over three years. One of those aircraft, delivered two years ago, has now surpassed 1,000 crewed flights — the most logged by any single powered-lift eVTOL to date.
What the BlackFly actually is
Classified by the FAA as a Part 103 ultralight, BlackFly is a single-seat electric VTOL that doesn’t require a traditional pilot license to operate under U.S. ultralight rules, subject to specific conditions. It’s designed as a lightweight, trailered, and even amphibious personal aerial vehicle, aimed at outdoor enthusiasts as much as tech-forward commuters.
Key specs and performance
- Empty weight: 254 lb (115 kg); max takeoff ~548 lb (249 kg)
- Dimensions: roughly 14 ft 11 in (4.5 m) wide and long; wing area ~33 sq ft (3 m²)
- Battery: 8 kWh pack — range ~20 miles (32 km) or ~20 minutes flight time
- Motors: eight electric motors with redundancy; cruise up to 63 mph (101 km/h)
- Charging: ~4.5 hours on Level 1, ~75 minutes on Level 2
Beyond raw numbers, BlackFly emphasizes software-led flight control: a cloud-connected display, smart flight controllers and an app offering checklists, navigation and analytics — features that matter for buyer confidence in electric aircraft, similar to how EV owners value detailed charging and range data.
Safety, limits and market positioning
Redundancy is built in: the aircraft can remain controllable if one rotor fails and can operate in winds up to 20 mph (32 kph). For catastrophic scenarios, a ballistic parachute is fitted. Operational limits include a minimum pilot age of 18, a max pilot weight of 220 lb (100 kg), flights only in U.S. airspace away from congested areas and airports, and altitude caps up to 5,000 ft (1,524 m).
With around 50 pilots certified so far and a price close to $200,000, BlackFly occupies a niche separate from multi-seat air taxis. It’s marketed more like an advanced EV for the sky — trailerable, quick to prep (about 30 minutes), and designed for recreational and light utility use. Pivotal also hinted at a revised model, the Helix, coming soon.
Highlights:
- Historic: one unit >1,000 piloted flights
- Practical: trailerable and amphibious
- Tech-led: app, smart flight controls, rotor redundancy
Source: autoevolution
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