I learned to fly an electric plane in three days. It blew my mind.
“Okay, Andy. You can leave.’ That’s my flight instructor talking to me on the radio in my helmet.
“Real?” I think to myself. “Is this really happening?”
I’m about to do something my instructor tells me less than 100 people on the planet have done: I’m going to pilot an eVTOL, an electric vertical take-off and landing vehicle. Imagine a small plane or helicopter crossed with a drone. And here’s the kicker:
I’ve never flown another plane in my life.
But that’s exactly how Silicon Valley is based Decisive thinks it can crack the recreational aviation market: with an aircraft so easy to fly that almost anyone can learn it with a few days of training on a simulator.
The BlackFly is Pivotal’s fourth-generation pre-production eVTOL.
“It’s actually incredibly difficult to do anything in one of these aircraft that is going to produce a bad result,” said Ken Karklin, CEO of Pivotal. “Today’s technology has allowed us to put an aircraft with many more capabilities, at least technologically, into the hands of an ultralight operator.”
An ultralight aircraft has only one seat, is used for recreational purposes only and may or may not be powered. A powered ultralight aircraft must weigh less than 254 pounds, according to Federal Aviation Administration guidelines. They do not require certification to operate, although they cannot be flown over populated areas. Still, anyone wanting to buy a $190,000 plane from Pivotal must undergo training on a simulator led by company instructors. The training usually lasts about 10 days. (Full transparency, I completed an abbreviated version of the training, which limited the types of flying I was allowed to do.)
The single-seat aircraft I’m in is Pivotal’s fourth-generation pre-production eVTOL, called a BlackFly. It is painted a sleek black and is made of full fiber composite with a bubble roof. Blackfly is powered by eight electric motors with four propellers on each wing. Because it takes off and lands vertically, there are no wheels or any other landing gear. On the landing platform, the BlackFly rests on its fuselage and front wing.
Pivotal says it has completely redesigned the hardware of its production model aircraft, the Helix.
Next year, Pivotal expects to deliver its first production model aircraft, the Helix, to customers. This new model is similar to the Blackfly, but Pivotal says the hardware inside has been redesigned for better efficiency and scalability.
Pivotal does not yet want to say how many orders have been received for the Helix. 13 BlackFlys have been sold since the first one was delivered to a customer in June 2023. While the company hopes to woo people like me with no flying experience, the company says even seasoned pilots show “incredible enthusiasm” after flying a BlackFly.
“This is a different kind of airplane, one that they can fly from their backyard. They don’t have to go to the airport.” says Karklin.
In the BlackFly cockpit
Pivotal, backed by Google co-founder Larry Page, uses so-called fly-by-wire technology in its eVTOLs. That means there are computers between the controls in the cockpit and the physical components that move the plane. Fly-by-wire systems make it easier to maneuver the aircraft and reduce weight.
The cockpit is simple and cozy. There are two identical, redundant joysticks on either side, so a pilot can use whichever hand he prefers. In front of me is a tablet with a touchscreen that displays real-time information such as altitude, airspeed, engine temperatures and battery levels.
In a Pivotal Helix cockpit.
Next to the touchscreen is a button that I spend a lot of time looking at. Pulling it activates the ballistic parachute. Although part of my training included learning to use the parachute on a mock-up, Pivotal tells me that no pilot has had to use it in more than 7,000 real flights. Still, at this point I’m glad it’s there.
Despite some nerves, after three days on the simulator and completing an evaluation, I feel confident. I ask my flight instructor, Sabrina Alesna, who is also a fixed-wing pilot, what it was like the first time she flew a BlackFly.
Each customer must complete an evaluation on a simulator before flying a Pivotal aircraft.
“I was shocked at how responsive it was,” she says. “I’m used to constantly making inputs to maintain my altitude or airspeed. But this airplane does all the work for you.”
My first flight
My first flight is quite easy. Alesna tells me to take off to 40 feet above the path, yaw left (turn), yaw right, and then land. As soon as I’m free, I take a deep breath and press the accelerator. The eight spooling engines sound like a swarm of bees. After about 3 seconds I feel a jolt and am pushed back in my seat as BlackFly rips off the ground. It feels similar to the simulator, but more aggressive.
I forget that I have to stop 40 feet in the air, and by the time I take my thumb off the accelerator I’m about 50 feet in the air. Once I’m settled, I look to my left. The reality of being alone in a flying plane hits home, but I remind myself that I’ve done this dozens of times on the simulator.
My first flight in BlackFly about 50 feet above the ground.
After a few seconds of hovering, I complete my yaw and start the landing process. All I have to do is pull back on the accelerator until I’m about 10 food items above the ground. At that point the computer tells me that the “auto-land” function is available, which I can now start. The BlackFly does the rest of the work for me and I fall to the ground.
My next three flights will be longer and more complex. Watch the video above to see them and learn more about the training process.
After that first flight we have to let the engines cool down for a while, but I am immediately ready to leave. With a big grin on my face, I turn to the GoPro camera facing me and say, “That was so much fun.”
