Helix eVTOL Announced
The eVTOL concern formerly known as Opener Aero has rebranded, emerging as Pivotal Aero LLC. Founded by Canadian engineer Marcus Leng and renowned for its unique BlackFly tilt-architecture aircraft, Pivotal has announced the imminence of Helix, the company’s first scalable production vehicle.
Pivotal CEO Ken Karklin stated: “With Helix, we become the leading manufacturer of light eVTOL aircraft. Helix presents the next iteration of ten-plus-years of innovating, testing, and delivering on the promise to give individuals access to small, yet mighty aircraft.”
Mr. Karklin added: “Pivotal reflects our mission to transform movement with the power of flight. The new identity shows the versatility of our system architecture and encapsulates both the exhilaration and utility of flight.”
Built on Pivotal’s fourth-generation eVTOL platform, the Helix is aimed at individuals who want to take to the sky for recreation and short-hop travel.
After the fashion of its BlackFly forebear, Helix features distinctive tilt-aircraft architecture, simple user interface, and outstanding safety predicated upon fault-tolerance and triple-modular redundancy. In addition, the Helix offers:
- Power and propulsion improvements delivering a more robust operational flight envelope.
- Updated digital electronics hardware, occasioning new levels of robustness and reliability.
- A weight and durability optimized aerostructure exceeding industry best practice safety factors.
- A companion smartphone app integrating owner and pilot experience while simplifying pre-flight checks, capturing flight-history, and managing charging and aircraft service.
- A redesigned canopy and flight deck featuring an integrated primary display and improvements in comfort and safety.
- Enhanced non-flight-cloud connectivity to improve maintenance, vehicle telematics, charging, and owner asset management.
- A durable livery conducive to reducing the effects of weather, age, and solar loading while extending the life of the airframe and improving pilot comfort
- Product options including a transport trailer, fast-charging, aviation or GSM radios, ADS-B, custom liveries, and beacon lights
- Support for future field-replaceable next-generation batteries to extend range and endurance.
Designed to comply with FAA Part 103, pilots may operate Helix in Class G airspace over uncongested areas in the daytime, and are not required to hold pilot certification. Pivotal customers must, however, complete comprehensive initial and recurrent flight-training.
Pivotal customer Clark Thompson asserted: “Pivotal is fulfilling the dream of many people, and I want to participate in defining this space. I’ve been following the evolution of eVTOL aircraft for quite some time. Pivotal is the only company delivering an intelligent, powerful, and capable recreational product to the market. I’m eager to be a part of the Pivotal pilot community, take my aircraft out, and share my experiences.”
Helix is slated to have a base-price of $190,000. Orders for the aircraft may be placed on or after 09 January 2024 and require a deposit equal to 25-percent of the aircraft’s purchase price. Customer deliveries are to commence in June 2024. Pricing for options and accessories will be made known as such become available.
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