To take off, simply hold the toggle switch forward. The props turn slowly in unison—calibrating, calibrating—then spool furiously, a squadron of lawn mowers on deck. The machine vaults into the air, nose-first, throwing you on your back, looking at the sky. It will just hang like that until you push the joystick forward. Remember to keep that thumb going up.
Around 100 feet, pilots transition to Cruise mode. Click the trigger and the BlackFly noses down, bringing the pilot to a position more like a gaming chair than an ejection seat. As the wings begin to generate lift, the rotors’ pace slackens. The droning drops an octave. You can let go of the joystick if you like. The BlackFly goes where it’s pointed. Feel free to move about the cabin.
In other words, it’s easy. What makes the BlackFly disruptively like an automobile isn’t the range (20 minutes) or top speed (55 knots, per FAA rules). It’s the accessibility. By virtue of its human-factors engineering and flight-control automation, the BlackFly can be mastered by almost anyone with a few days’ training, roughly comparable to the requirements for a driver’s license. Nor is age any barrier. The craft’s joystick controller is practically instinctive to game-trained teenagers. The oldest BlackFly-certified pilot is 88.
As cool as it would be to land on the roof of your office like George Jetson, federal regulations forbid ultralights and experimental aircraft from overflying populated areas—cities, suburbs, highway corridors, etc. Nor can they fly at night or in bad weather. These restrictions effectively rule out widespread adoption of eVTOLs for urban commuting. While Pivotal’s technology is bursting with practical possibilities, the BlackFly itself cannot be but a toy—a glorious, wonderful toy.
And, like any toy—at least any that fly—you could potentially hurt yourself, if you put your mind to it. What the FAA calls uncontrolled airspace is hardly free of conflict. In fact, I found my time in the air pretty freaking dynamic, what with the flocks of stupid birds and the trees and the Navy helicopter roaring down the beach at 200 knots. I had to keep my head on a swivel.
Question: Is an eVTOL that just about any idiot can fly necessarily a good thing? What happens when bucks-up barnstormers start crashing into each other off Point Dume or over Burning Man?
To an amazing degree, the FAA relies on ultralight pilots’ judgment and sense of self preservation. However, the rule book warns that if ultralights start to become a problem for the public, the FAA is ready to bring down the flyswatter.