Media Coverage

Are Flying Cars Finally Here?

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.

Pivotal Delivers Personal eVTOLs For U.S. Air Force Testing

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.

This Personal Aircraft Can Be Yours For Less Than $200k

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.

Opener.aero Rebrands To Pivotal, Unveils Production Configuration

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.

Finally, An EVTOL You Can Buy (Soon)

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.

Electrify your commute

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.

Testing Paces Opener’s Progress With Personal eVTOL

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...

EAA AirVenture Draws Record-Setting 650,000 Attendees

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.

BlackFly maneuvers over Oshkosh

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.

Opener Blackfly: the Delightful eVTOL Personal Aircraft Coming To Hangars Near You

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.

Taking a flying car for a test drive

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.

What Looks Like a Giant Bumblebee, Can Fly Anywhere, and Started Out as a Car?

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.

This New One-Person Electric Aircraft Will Cost About The Same as a Luxury SUV

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.

Experience flight with this personal aerial craft

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.

JUST OUTTA BETA: 8-BIT ASTRONOMY, SOLAR YACHT, AND MORE

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...

EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2018: Black Fly, the Most Important Plane in Oshkosh History?

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...

BlackFly: The Newest Flying Car on the Block Debuts ar AirVenture OshKosh

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...

BlackFly electric personal VTOL ultralight aircraft is USA-qualified

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...

The BlackFly Is a Flying Car That Doesn’t Require a Pilot’s License

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...

The BlackFly by Opener is a flying car that could turn us all into pilots

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.” ...

A Week in Technology, July 16-20, 2018

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...

Opener is the latest startup to reveal plans for a personal aircraft

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...

Flying car innovator believes he can finally make it a reality

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...

Opener Reveals Ultalight eVTOL

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...

Opener Unveils first USA-Qualified Ultralight All-Electric Personal VTOL Aircraft

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)...