Pivotal Delivers First Four BlackFly Personal Aircraft for Air Force Evaluation

The light eVTOL manufacturer is working with AFWERX, the innovation arm of the U.S. Air Force, to assess the aircraft for a range of use cases.

Jack Daleo

Friday, February 23, 2024 at 04:44 PM ET

Verified

Edited By: tccjeremy

Helix, the successor to Pivotal’s BlackFly, features a unique tilt-aircraft design. [Courtesy: Pivotal]

Key Takeaways:

Pivotal, manufacturer of single-seat recreational eVTOL aircraft, has partnered with the U.S. Air Force's AFWERX Agility Prime program to evaluate its BlackFly eVTOLs for potential military missions.
Under the agreement, Pivotal provided BlackFly aircraft, simulators, and training to assess its unique "tilt-eVTOL" architecture and ease of deployment for military use cases like surveillance and disaster response.
Pivotal's flagship Helix eVTOL, available for $190,000, qualifies as a Part 103 ultralight, meaning it requires no pilot certification (with company training) but comes with specific operational restrictions for safety.

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Pivotal, the manufacturer of a single-seat electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft designed primarily for recreational use, has attracted the attention of the U.S. military.

The company this week said it was selected by Modern Technology Solutions Inc. (MTSI) and AFWERX, the innovation arm of the U.S. Air Force, to participate in Agility Prime, a division of AFWERX dedicated to vertical lift technologies.