Press

Read Pivotal coverage and press releases about our aircraft development, team members, and the growing, innovative eVTOL space.

Contact us at press@pivotal.aero.

Media Kit

Includes photos, videos, logos, executive bios, and our company backgrounder.

Media Kit

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Media Coverage

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.

Press Releases

Pivotal Appoints Cyrus Sigari to its Board of Directors

Palo Alto, CA, November 21, 2023  -- Pivotal, the market leader in light electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, today announced the appointment of Cyrus Sigari to its board of directors. Aviator, entrepreneur, and investor, Sigari is considered one of the world’s foremost experts on the future of mobility and the business of private aviation.

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Opener Announces Helix, its First Scalable Production Aircraft; Changes Company Name to Pivotal

Palo Alto, CA, October 5, 2023  -- Opener, the market leader in light electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, today announces Helix, its first scalable production vehicle, and unveils its new identity. Now named Pivotal, this step represents the company’s trailblazing influence on the industry and its transition to become a product-delivering entity serving the needs of customers in multiple segments. As a pioneer, Pivotal is renowned for the BlackFly, the first eVTOL of its kind to be sold and delivered to customers.

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Opener Early Access Program Moves BlackFly Closer to General Release

Oshkosh, WI. - EAA AirVenture, July 24, 2023  -- Opener, the market leader in light eVTOL aircraft, today unveiled its Early Access Program (EAP), a significant milestone towards achieving market readiness and successful commercialization of BlackFly. In addition to allowing early BlackFly owners to take off on adventures, the program enables a select group of participants to provide Opener with invaluable feedback on every aspect of their customer experience.

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Opener Announces Appointment of Jon Campagna as Chief Financial Officer

Palo Alto, June 6, 2023  -- Opener, the market leader in personal electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, is pleased to announce the appointment of Jon Campagna as Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Campagna has more than two decades of financial leadership in both public and private companies, including tenure as CFO at aerospace and space travel company Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc.

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Opener Aero Appoints Ken Karklin as Chief Executive Officer

Palo Alto, May 27, 2022  -- Opener Aero, a leader in eVTOL aircraft systems, today announced the appointment of Ken Karklin to Chief Executive Officer. Ken assumes day-to-day leadership of the company and will join its Board of Directors. Marcus Leng, Opener Aero founder and eVTOL pioneer, has stepped down from his role as Chief Executive Officer.

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Opener Completes Four Flight Demonstrations of Human-Operated eVTOL Fixed-Wing Aircraft

Palo Alto, August 3, 2021  -- Opener, a pioneer of electric aerial vehicles for consumer travel, today announced the historic completion of four human-operated flights of BlackFly, the world’s first eVTOL fixed-wing aircraft. Two BlackFly production vehicles soared into the sky in front of hundreds of thousands of attendees at the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) AirVenture 2021 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

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Marcus Leng Receives EAA 2019 August Raspet Award for Aircraft Design and Technology Innovation

EAA AirVenture, Oshkosh, July 26, 2019  -- OPENER today announced its Founder and CEO, Marcus Leng, has been awarded the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) 2019 August Raspet Award in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the advancement of light aircraft design. Leng innovated modern battery and motor technologies to produce BlackFly, the world’s first fixed-wing, all-electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) personal ultralight aircraft.

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Opener Donates a Historic BlackFly eVTOL Vehicle to the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Museum

EAA AirVenture, Oshkosh, July 22, 2019  -- OPENER, a pioneer of aerial vehicles for general public travel, and the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) today announced the donation of a first generation manned BlackFly vehicle to the EAA Aviation Museum in Oshkosh, WI. Designed and built by OPENER, BlackFly is a fixed-wing, all-electric, vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) personal ultralight aircraft. The remarkable BlackFly will be displayed outside the Innovation Showcase at AirVenture July 22 to 28.

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Opener Unveils First Canadian-Qualified Ultralight All-Electric Personal Aerial Vehicle

Palo Alto, 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 extreme short/vertical take-off and landing (ESTOL/VTOL) aircraft. BlackFly is a single-seat Personal Aerial Vehicle (PAV) designed and built for a new world of three-dimensional transportation. BlackFly has simple controls requiring no special skills to master and 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 40 miles at a speed of 72 mph.

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

Palo Alto, 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 USA) 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 (USA restriction).

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Facts

Helix

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Company

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