BlackFly is Pivotal’s eVTOL aircraft and at CES Pivotal revealed the fourth generation aircraft, Helix. It is now available to all eligible customers. Helix is basically a flying car. It is electric.
Over twelve years in the making, the Helix is Pivotal’s first aircraft to be produced at scale, created to bring the wonder of flight to anyone with a spirit of adventure.
Designed for ease of flight, the Helix features unique software and hardware controls. In addition, rigorous simulator and flight training sessions are required for pilot qualification from Pivotal.
A wide-angle view and quiet operation allow pilots to better appreciate their natural surroundings and also foster a deep connection to the flying experience.
Pivotal, the market leader in light electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, is thrilled to announce the official launch of online sales for its highly anticipated flying vehicle, the Helix. The starting price for a Helix aircraft is $190,000 USD before taxes, delivery, or other fees, as applicable. Customers can place orders for delivery in the United States on Pivotal’s website at pivotal.aero. First customer shipments begin on June 10, 2024.
Created for the awe of exploring the world from new heights, the Helix removes the barriers that prevent everyday adventurers from experiencing the joys of aviation. The Helix’s powerful capabilities are navigated with intuitive joystick controls, guided by a simple user interface.
At the heart of this single-seat vehicle lies a robust fault-tolerant design, bolstered by triple modular flight control systems for safety and reliability. Efficient, compact, and simple, the Helix is transportable and easy to assemble — from storage to sky in 30 minutes. It disassembles to fit into a 16-foot trailer.
“We’re proud to begin selling, and soon delivering, our Helix aircraft. The market is ready for the wonder of aerial recreation and short-hop eVTOL travel. We are ready to provide the beauty and freedom of personal flight to a whole lot of people with a passion for flying and an interest in creating a new generation of aviators and aviation,” said Ken Karklin, CEO, Pivotal.
Early access customer Dean Owen added, “As one of Pivotal’s BlackFly customers, I can’t wait for more pilots to join the fold. There’s no better feeling than flying in this aircraft, and I want to share it with people like me who have dreamt of flying for a long time. This is an exciting moment to get in on the Helix and a growing community of Pivotal pilots.”
Helix Packages
The Helix is offered in three configurations, with the ability to add accessories and services for further customization.
Package 1 offers a white and carbon fiber exterior finish and includes a digital flight panel, canopy, HD landing camera, charger, vehicle cart, custom marking, comprehensive pilot training, and warranty; base price of $190,000
Package 2 offers a gloss white and striped carbon fiber exterior finish and includes the features above, plus a trailer with dual wing cart; 4k camera with landing assist, recording, and sharing features; ADS-B air traffic system; two chargers; and enhanced warranty; base price of $240,000
Package 3 offers an exterior in gloss white, carbon fiber, with custom accent color and includes the features above, plus a premium flight deck, three chargers, beacon aircraft lighting; integrated emergency locator transmitter, one additional training slot for a friend or family member; and the option to fully customize the exterior at additional cost, design dependent; base price of $260,000
For more details visit pivotal.aero/helix. For those interested in placing an order, here are some specifications:
The Helix is only available in the United States
Customers can order the Helix online with a $250 non-refundable application fee
To secure a Helix production slot and forecasted ship date, a deposit of $50,000 is due within five business days of initial order placement
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Well … this is too hard to format well, but I back-calculated the Pivotal website Helix numbers, to check-and-see if they fit basic cocktail napkin physics math.
They do. Some fudging to improve ‘the numbers’, but still basically fits the physics.
Using 5.0 m² propeller area, and a payload not of ‘max = 220 lbs’ but a more helpful 170 lbs, 1.29 kg/m³ air density and just static lift conditions (2,270 N), my calcs came up with 25 kWh electrical into 85% efficient motors-to-propwash thrust conversion. This required 18.9 m/s propwash (90 MPH). Not unreasonable, at all.
The durance of 20 miles (17.6 knots) at 55 knots gives a more-than-the-above power required for 0.32 hours or 20 minutes.
Again, not unreasonable. Kind of burns up more energy than the battery pack seems to hold (8.4 kWh vs 6.4 kWh 80%), but again … more or less within cocktail napkin expectations.
What a deal!
To zip a handful of miles from here to ‘there’, and hopefully plan the trip with enough reserve power to make it back to ‘here’.
I WONDER what the ‘oops, we miscalculated’ recovery modes are. Notably missing from all online discussion.
Parachutes seem like a minimum, with a spring loaded ejector mechanism? You won’t likely perish. The aircraft is a total loss. In fact with so little wing area, I don’t think it’d have a very rosy glide-to-land profile. Just tumble-to-the-scene-of-the-crash.
But hey, its experimental, and those are the risks.
No insurance available, right?
It does make one daydream about the terribly old-fashioned para-gliders. They seem to get the job done with a few gallons of petrol and a big ol’ piece of Nylon ripstop sail.
⋅-⋅-⋅ Just saying, ⋅-⋅-⋅
⋅-=≡ GoatGuy ✓ ≡=-⋅
that should be 25 kW, not kWh.
For those interested in how ‘cocktail napkin physics’ is done (in this instance, with these numbers), here’s how I approached it.
Several derivative numbers to estimate.
Propeller area. Looking up the stats of the Helix craft, it supposedly has 2 wings of span 13.7 ft. Together, that’d be 27.4 ft … × 0.3048 m/ft gives 8.35 m in Metric (the units of physics). Looking at the picture of the front of I est that props have (0.89 m / .3048 = 2.9 ft) diameter. Nice and big. The area of 8 props is
8 × π(𝒓 = 0.89 ÷ 2)² = 4.9 m² TA DA
To figure lift and power to ‘do it’, I have to figure how much air needs to be moved, per second, thru the props at some velocity V. Relevant equations:
m = VAρ where ρ is 1.29 kg/m³ for dry sea-level air. We know A = 4.9 m².
To figure LIFT from moving that air, we have
F = mV (for continuous flow. I know it is ‘ma’, but at = v, and t = 1 sec, so … )
Net
F = AρV² for cocktail napkin math
We know the empty weight is 350 lbs (158 kg), and a slight-weight man with parachute might tip in at 160 lbs. 73 kg. So, the total is 231 kg. The downward force is
F = mG₀ = 231 × 9.81 N/kg
F = 2,261 newtons
That in turn fits the above
2,261 = V² × 4.9 × 1.29 and figuring for V
V = √( 2,261 / (4.9 × 1.29) )
V = 18.8 m/s (2.24 MPH/mps) = 42 MPH
Working back to moved-mass:
m = VAρ = 18.8 × 4.9 × 1.29
m = 119 kg/s
There we are. To figure the POWER to do that, estimating a power-to-lift coupling efficiency of 85% (pretty optimistic?),
P = ½mV²
P = 0.5 × 119 kg/s × 18.8² m²/s²
P = 21,030 W (at 100% efficiency) ÷ 0.85 eff =
P = 25,000 W = 25 kW
Then working with the stated range of 20 miles, at 55 knots, with 80% of battery used up, and it being a 8 kWh battery …
20 mi × 5280 ÷ 6000 (conversion to nautical miles) = 17.6 naut mi
17.6 ÷ 55 knots = 0.32 hr
0.32 hr × 25 kW = 8 kWh
So far, ON PAPER, it looks like a near-perfect fit! 8 kilowatt hours!
Ooops. The actual power will be higher due to linear (ground speed) motion of 55 knots.
And we only got 6.4 kWh for 80% of a the stated 8 kWh battery.
CHEATS that could have been conveniently used and not mentioned:
If the round-trip of the vehicle was used, with half the trip bearing an occupant, and the return flight having no pilot (computer controlled autonomous return) like a drone, well that’d fix up the energetic gap right quick. Also, if the 55 knot forward motion generates a bunch of lift for the vehicle ‘cheaper’ than static lift, that also could fix up the ticket. By the quoted 438 Wh/mile projected energy use, it implies quite a bit of linear motion lift.
So, it all figures out.
The Helix aught to do what it has been quoted as being able to eventually do.
Cocktail math.
⋅-⋅-⋅ Just saying, ⋅-⋅-⋅
⋅-=≡ GoatGuy ✓ ≡=-⋅
There is more to whether something like this succeeds than the ability to make them and even the basic price. It will be interesting to see if it is economically feasible and technically practical for any real segment of society rather than just a gimmick for rich hobbyists who fly it around private estates.
Serious question: Since this vehicle can fly at very low altitudes I wonder who’ll be the first crazy to load up one of these with 3 or 4 hundred pounds of dynamite, TNT, PETN, RDX, or similar compound and drop it on the nearest legislative assembly building?
Diverting a small amount of one’s security budget to simple air defence systems is probably not beyond the finances of most nations capable of running a legislative assembly. It will need to be clear to the public that if you “accidentally” violate airspace around such a building you will get a face full of MANPAD just as flying into the side of a building would have negative repercussions.
For softer targets a car bomb would still be cheaper and more effective. There will always be creative means of killing with new tech. Like car bombs, for instance. We just adapt, arrest and move on.
… because it can’t carry 3 or 4 hundred pounds, and only has a range of 20 miles, and costs a quarter million to buy, and they won’t give it to you until you’ve taken their course (which they will know who you are and which particular aircraft you have). Meanwhile you could have bought a used Cessna with 5 times the useful load and 10 times the range for 10 times less money.