Air Force Research Laboratory, July 31, 2024
As the sun rose over Springfield-Beckley Airport, Ohio, a quiet hum from an unusual aircraft signaled the start of another day of flight testing.
Robb Report, July 22, 2024
Wild aircraft are the hallmark of AirVenture, the world’s largest get-together for pilots, which starts today in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
The San Francisco Standard, June 15, 2024
From 500 feet in the air, a hovering aircraft the size of a compact car charts its course along the pastoral landscape of Point Reyes, from the headwaters of Tomales Bay through green hills dotted with cows to the Nicasio Reservoir and back.
New Yorker, April 15, 2024
I would have flown in the direction of the hills and the sky and never come back; I would be up there still.
Aviation Week, February 21, 2024
U.S. startup Pivotal has delivered four of eight BlackFly ultralight electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing (eVTOL) vehicles for evaluation by the U.S. Air Force’s AFWerx innovation unit under the Agility Prime program.
Road & Track, February 9, 2024
Pivotal is careful not to call its products flying cars, though these craft are easier to use than a Cessna.
SlashGear, January 23, 2024
Pivotal (formerly known as Opener) has recently begun taking orders for its first light eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) aircraft produced at scale.
The Hollywood Reporter, January 17, 2024
The future has landed: flying cars have arrived (kind of) in the form of Pivotal's Helix.
FLYING Magazine, January 11, 2024
If you've dreamed of taking to the skies but are too busy to put in the hours for a full program of flight training, there's a strange new aircraft you can fly without a certificate — and it's now on sale in the U.S.
USA Today, January 8, 2024
Electric vehicles are back in full fleet this CES, including the new Helix ultralight eVTOL from Pivotal. It's a fully carbon-fiber, 348-pound "almost" flying car concept, but without wheels.
Electrek, January 8, 2024
Following the debut of the production-intent design of its Helix light eVTOL, electric aviation startup Pivotal has begun selling the personal aircraft in the US.
Autoweek, January 8, 2024
The little bean-shaped Helix features two banks of four electric rotors front and rear, eight rotors total. Neither the wings nor the rotors tilt, thus saving a lot of complexity.
Forbes, October 26, 2023
At the 2023 UP.Summit, Forbes spoke to Ken Karklin, the CEO of Pivotal, about their personal flying vehicle Helix. The production EVTOL will cost $190,000, and the company will begin taking orders in January 2024.
Aviation Week, October 11, 2023
Personal electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing (eVTOL) startup Opener.aero announced a rebrand to Pivotal, as it rolled out its production-configuration Helix aircraft, including numerous design changes from the previous iteration.
FLYING Magazine, October 7, 2023
The company’s BlackFly personal eVTOL is one of the first of its kind to be sold and delivered to customers.
Dallas Morning News, October 5, 2023
Attendees watch as Pivotal demonstrates its BlackFly eVTOL during the UP.Summit 2023 at the Circle T Ranch in Westlake.
Vertical, October 5, 2023
California-based eVTOL developer Opener has unveiled the company’s first scalable production aircraft that it calls Helix. And along with the new aircraft,comes a new identity — Opener has now been rebranded to Pivotal.
Electrek, October 5, 2023
Light eVTOL developer Opener.aero has announced it has changed its company name to Pivotal, following the debut of first scalable production aircraft, Helix.
Electrek, July 25, 2023
Light eVTOL developer Opener has announced a unique opportunity as it looks to achieve market commercialization of its BlackFly aircraft.
IEEE Spectrum, March 7, 2023
On a gin-clear December day, I’m sitting under the plexiglass bubble of a radically new kind of aircraft.
IEEE Spectrum, December 29, 2022
If electrical vertical takeoff and landing aircraft do manage to revolutionize transportation, the date of 5 October 2011, may live on in aviation lore.
Royal Aeronautical Society, October 21, 2022
Opener’s BlackFly eVTOL has been wowing audiences at events this summer. STEPHEN BRIDGEWATER speaks exclusively to company CEO Ken Karklin about the eye-catching craft and the company’s plans for the future.
Los Angeles Times, October 1, 2022
Huntington Beach hosted the Pacific Airshow this weekend, featuring incredible stunt performances, precision parachute drops, vintage military aircraft and even an experimental flying car.
Aviation Week, September 1, 2022
Ultralight aircraft are usually the simplest of flying machines, often just tube and fabric—no certification, no pilot’s license, no commercial use. But several advanced air mobility (AAM) startups see the FAA’s Part 103 rules for ultralight vehicles as a way to bring electric vertical takeoff and...
Aviation Week, August 4, 2022
In 2021, the Experimental Aircraft Association “tiptoed” into hosting the return of EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, the world’s largest air show, following its cancellation in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, organizers went full bore and have not looked back.
Plane & Pilot, August 2, 2022
Our photographers scoured the grounds for a week. These are our personal favorites.
AOPA, July 29, 2022
The Opener BlackFly's two twilight flights were the highlights among a few showings by personal electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2022. Opener’s Version 3 vehicle was on display, and flew in the night airshow and the Twilight Flight Fest. Last year, the BlackFly hovered only, and this year it added maneuvering—an impressive improvement to an already impressive airshow routine.
NBC 26, July 28, 2022
The advancements in technology on display at EAA AirVenture 2022 are out of this world.
autoevolution, July 16, 2022
The Opener Blackfly is one of the first legitimate attempts at bringing a mass-produced eVTOL personal transportation vehicle to the market in any significant capacity. No wonder this example sits among a host of other eVTOL concepts at the Cradle of Aviation in Garden City, New York. On the former site where Charles Lindbergh took off bound for Paris, these eVTOLs may not have the same ambitions. But it can't be argued; they're still cool as heck.
CNET, February 1, 2022
The Transformative Vertical Flight conference in Silicon Valley in January hosted a collection of vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. Here's a look.
CBS News, October 10, 2021
After years of development, the BlackFly personal aerial vehicle will soon be on sale. Correspondent John Blackstone set out to see how someone with no flying experience could manage behind the controls.
Autoevolution, August 6, 2021
We’re not going to get into the “which is the first eVTOL to do this or that” thing, because there are several companies creating these types of air vehicles at the moment, in various stages of development. Aptly-named Blackfly, this particular eVTOL is not one of the newest, but certainly one of the most impressive ones. It has come a long way and recently had its first public manned eVTOL demonstration flight, at the EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association) AirVenture 2021.
Robb Report, August 5, 2021
If some world organization ever creates an award for the strangest-looking, yet practical personal aerial vehicle, Opener’s Blackfly should capture the trophy. Blackfly last weekend performed for the crowds at AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisc., competing against Volocopter to be named as the first piloted eVTOL at a public event.
Autoblog, August 5, 2021
Silicon Valley startup Opener created Blackfly as a personal aerial vehicle that allows operators to take flight and land vertically. The all-electric craft has a range of 25 miles with the ability to reach speeds of 60 mph, though the international model has a top speed of over 80 mph.
Mashable, July 30, 2021
The electric aerial vehicle company OPENER just made history with its vehicle, BlackFly.
The New York Times, June 12, 2021
It was sleek, cone-shaped, a little confusing — like something Hollywood would give a sci-fi villain for a quick getaway. It wasn’t a helicopter. And it wasn’t an airplane. It was a cross between the two, with a curved hull, two small wings, and eight spinning rotors lined up across its nose and tail.
WIRED, September 18, 2018
Quadcopters make fine toys, but true flying cars need eight rotors. Opener’s single-seat octocopter classifies as an ultralight plane, but with its vertical takeoff and landing capabilities, you can skip the runway and touch down in the office parking lot...
Digital Trends, August 19, 2018
Today, commuting to work in a personal helicopter or private jet is something that’s only really available to billionaire CEOs, hedge fund managers, and “one hit wonder” rappers who are six months away from bankruptcy...
CleanTechnica, August 10, 2018
The great thing about air events is that airplanes can come from far away. The not so great thing is that if the event is far, you too have to travel to it. But this year’s 2018 EAA AirVenture Oshkosh was well worth the travel, as it attempted to show a clearer picture of our near future mobility...
CNET, August 9, 2018
Watch the What The Future video!
Plane and Pilot Magazine, July 27, 2018
Enjoying its world debut this week over at the EAA’s Innovation Center is a thing called Black Fly, which is…oh, we’re tired of figuring out what to call these things. It’s an ultralight (Part 103) polycopter that can be either autonomously or remotely controlled—no, the idea of “flying” a craft that’s being remotely controlled by someone safe on the ground doesn’t appeal much to us, either. But Black Fly, much unlike other futuristic looking craft isn’t flying pie in the sky. It’s been flying for almost a decade now and has amassed a substantial amount of time in the process...
Robb Report, July 25, 2018
In parts of the Northeast, the black fly is regarded as a pest, an annual springtime annoyance that will make you rethink plans for hiking or camping. But in Silicon Valley, a company called Opener has introduced a flying vehicle that could render the term—when written as one word and with a capital F—synonymous with convenience...
AV Web, July 25, 2018
Opener, Inc. brought version three of its BlackFly ultralight aircraft to AirVenture 2018. In this video, Alan Eustace explains the history of the aircraft and some of its features...
SlashGear, July 18, 2018
OPENER has announced that its BlackFly ultralight VTOL aircraft has been qualified for use in the US. The company says that BlackFly is simple to operate and master with no formal licensing needed in the US. BlackFly is fully amphibious and is designed to operate from small grassy areas for distances of up to 25 miles...
Electrek, July 17, 2018
The growing space of VTOL personal electric aircraft has got yet another entry from a new startup. This latest working prototype of a new ultralight all-electric personal VTOL aircraft has about 25 miles of range...
ExtremeTech, July 17, 2018
We at ExtremeTech are as disappointed as anyone that the flying cars we were implicitly promised over the years have not yet arrived. A Canadian firm called Opener wants to finally make flying cars a reality with the newly announced BlackFly. Unlike past attempts, Opener isn’t trying to match the capabilities of a car...
Road Show by CNET, July 16, 2018
Autonomous technology is moving us closer to the lofty flying-car future that we've been dreaming about for the past century. What does autonomous tech have to do with flying cars? Computing power...
Digital Trends, July 16, 2018
Forget self-driving cars. The race to build the first flying car is now very much on. This week, Californian startup Opener officially threw its hat in the flying car ring with the debut of BlackFly, heralded as “the world’s first ultralight all-electric fixed-wing vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft.” ...
Aviation Week, July 16, 2018
BlackFly Recreational eVTOL Unveiled A second recreational electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing (eVTOL) aircraft has emerged from secrecy, following June’s unveiling of the multirotor Kitty Hawk Flyer. The BlackFly, developed by Silicon Valley startup Opener, has eight rotors on tandem wings fixed at high incidence. This allows the single-seat aircraft to take off and land near-vertically as well as hover...
Engadget, July 14, 2018
The race to build a "flying car" has just become more crowded. This week, the Canadian company Opener revealed its new vehicle, called BlackFly. The one-person aircraft can travel up to 25 miles at a speed of 62 miles per hour. Because the operations are a simple joystick, according to the release BlackFly shouldn't require a pilot's license...
Mirror, July 12, 2018
They’re a staple feature of many science-fiction blockbusters, and now flying cars are becoming a reality. Opener has revealed BlackFly - the world’s first ultralight all-electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft. The aircraft has a single-seat, and amazingly, doesn’t require a formal licence or any special skills to operate...
CleanTechnica, July 12, 2018
After a solid two years of uninterrupted electric aircraft news, we’re happy to announce that the first single-personal electric aircraft has arrived and electric urban mobility has taken a giant leap forward...
GeekWire, July 12, 2018
A Silicon Valley startup called Opener is taking the wraps off a single-seat, all-electric flying vehicle known as BlackFly, which the company says will require no formal licensing in the U.S. ...
CBS News, July 12, 2018
No technological dream has captured the minds of the media quite like the flying car. Marcus Leng of Blackfly believes his invention will allow it to become a reality. CBS News correspondent John Blackstone, who has chased down the flying car fantasy for 30 years, reports on this Silicon Valley innovator...
AV Web, July 12, 2018
After nine years of covert development and testing, California-based Opener Inc. revealed what it is calling the world’s first ultralight fixed-wing, all-electric vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft on Thursday. According to the company, the amphibious BlackFly has already completed more than 1,000 flights and flown over 10,000 miles. As an ultralight, the single-seat aircraft does not require an FAA certificate to operate...
EAA, July 12, 2018
OPENER, Inc., a pioneer of aero vehicles for consumer travel, today revealed BlackFly, the world’s first ultralight, all-electric, fixed-wing, vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft. BlackFly is a single-seat personal aerial vehicle (PAV) designed and built for a new world of three-dimensional transportation. BlackFly is simple to master and requires no formal licensing (in U.S.) or special skills to operate safely. Though BlackFly has full amphibious capabilities, it is primarily designed to easily operate from small grassy areas and travel distances of up to 25 miles at a speed of 62 mph (U.S. restriction)...