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Transcript

The Personal Aircraft You Can Fly With No License: Inside Pivotal’s Helix with Cal Cruickshank · Auto Collabs

• 0:00
  Welcome to Auto Collapse. You're listening to an exclusive series recorded live at Automobility LA 2025 in partnership with Cars Commerce. We're back here at the auto show with my new friend, Cal Cruikshank.
• 0:12
  Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you as well. Thanks for having me. Um, business development director for Pivotal. That's correct.
• 0:18
  Now, if you haven't heard about Pivotal, you're about to, and I just got to see the vehicle, the EVTOL, the aircraft, whatever you wanna call it. Can you... Uh, it's really cool. We'll show some pictures of it too.
• 0:29
  Can you tell us a little bit about the company? Yeah, absolutely. So, uh, the company was founded in 2011. Um, we have been operating these EVTOL aircraft since 2017.
• 0:39
  Um, it is an all-electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. You can take off vertically right out of a property, transition into a cruise mode, uh, much like an airplane. Uh, it's very, very simple to operate.
• 0:51
  Uh, you actually don't even need a license to fly it- That's crazy... as it's a Part 103 ultralight. So somebody technically could buy this and just fly it? Yeah, absolutely. You wouldn't advise that. Yeah.
• 1:01
  Well, we do have a, uh, a full complete training program in-house. We put you through VR simulation, uh, followed by actual flight experience.
• 1:09
  It takes typically four to six days to train, so we make sure that you're good to fly the aircraft and understand all the modes of, of how to operate it. Yeah.
• 1:17
  We just went and toured it and, um, there's only one person in this vehicle. Yeah. So if you're not confident... Yeah.
• 1:23
  Um, but you did have some safety measures in there, specifically, uh, the button that'll land it- Yeah, yeah... when, once you're in hover mode and, uh, you know, what was kind of the...
• 1:32
  One of the last things we talked about was a ballistic parachute. Absolutely. So we haven't had to use that yet, and, uh- That was gonna be my next question- [laughs]...
• 1:38
  but I didn't know if I wanted to ask you that- We've tested it... while recording. Yeah, yeah. So you've tested it. Has that... Has anyone tested it inside the vehicle? Just, just some dummies. Okay. [laughs] Yeah.
• 1:47
  [laughs] And they all made it out alive. Yeah, they all made it out alive, yeah. So, um, this is a market that is emerging. Right. Um, if you've been doing this since... What, what year was it? Uh- 2017?
• 1:56
  We've been flying since 2017. So we're almost at the 10-year mark, but this technology just seems to be catching on to the mainstream- Yeah...
• 2:01
  where individuals are starting to say, uh, we're starting to see more things coming. The conversations about transport vehicles, like from airports to buildings- Yeah... has kind of ramped up.
• 2:10
  But on the personal, would you consider this a recreational vehicle? Absolutely, yeah. So as an ultralight, Part 103 restricts you to only operating recreationally. Uh, so you can't fly for business.
• 2:22
  Uh, it's a single seat. You can't fly over densely populated areas or into big towered airsp- air- airports.
• 2:29
  Uh, so it's definitely all recreational at this time, plus some o- other use cases in the public safety and defense realms. Okay. So what would... So we have rec- Tell me the profile.
• 2:39
  Do you have some of these in the wild right now? We do, yeah. So we've actually had a handful of early access owners since 2023 flying a pre-production model called the BlackFly.
• 2:48
  Uh, we're currently taking pre-orders for our production model called the Helix. Uh, we'll start delivering that around the end of Q1 2026.
• 2:56
  So right now just taking pre-orders, training those pilots in our BlackFly aircraft, getting them ready to experience, uh, their, their Helix upon delivery. Okay, so let's talk about the applications.
• 3:06
  One is, um, I'm just somebody who really always wanted to fly. Yeah. And getting a license to fly is very complicated- Right... and probably more dangerous than this. Right.
• 3:18
  And so if I can do it, this is a way I can actually get in the air y- and have some fun. Absolutely, yeah.
• 3:24
  S- I think it's the most accessible way to fly for, for a, a large amount of people, um, y- you know, without the need for an FAA, you know, pilot license. It, it really opens the skies to, to virtually anyone.
• 3:36
  Um, you know- You know what interesting part, like you need a license to fly a drone aircraft, like a camera drone. Yeah, yeah. So you need less to fly this- Right...
• 3:45
  yourself around in this than you do to fly just a commercial drone. You know, I, I think that that probably stems from the fact that those drones are flying, you know, uncrewed.
• 3:53
  There's nobody on board making those decisions. They're flying, you know, remotely. Yeah. Um, so- Oh, interesting... you need to kind of be more aware. You don't have eyes in the sky at that point.
• 4:02
  So, um, you're also able to fly drones over cities and, and populated areas. Right. So this is more of a, a machine that you're flying by yourself, you know, over unpopulated terrain. Okay. What's the maximum altitude?
• 4:14
  Uh, so the aircraft can go to 10,000 feet density altitude. Holy cow. So that's, you know, Denver, hot day. Um, but you're typically flying- That's very high. It is. That- that's the performance of the machine.
• 4:26
  However, we typically fly 3 to 500 feet above ground- Okay... because you don't wanna be burning battery up, burning battery down. Right.
• 4:33
  Get up to a safe altitude where you could deploy the parachute, use those safety measures if you needed to, but otherwise you're flying below the flow of fixed wing traffic and staying out of the way.
• 4:43
  And what is the top speed of the vehicle? So, uh, 55 knots or 63 miles per hour, and that is, uh, regulated by the FAA Part 103 as well. And can you tell me a little bi- bit about, uh, total runtime once you take off?
• 4:56
  And, um, it's battery operated, so it's like, what does it take to charge it? Yeah, absolutely. So, um, we're expecting up to 25 minutes, uh, 25-mile range, um, on the production model Helix.
• 5:09
  Uh, charging, uh, 120 volt, uh, takes about four and a half hours. A 240 is about 75 minutes. Uh, you can get tricky and plug two 240s, one into each wing, and get you under an hour, about 40 minutes. Oh, wow.
• 5:21
  So there's a lot of fun to be had. Yeah. You mentioned, uh, commercial and military applications. What type of applications would this vehicle be good for? Yeah.
• 5:28
  So, um, we are, uh, really excited about getting in the public safety arena, getting paramedics to scenes that are hard to reach or take a while for ambulance or firetruck to show up to. Oh, yeah.
• 5:39
  So we get a paramedic to a scene, stabilize a patient, and, you know, wait for the rest of the crew to show up.
• 5:45
  So it's a life-saving measure, uh, for disaster zones or large counties, uh, hard to reach areas, or traffic, I guess. Right. Um, and then the- Oh, good point. Yeah.
• 5:55
  Yeah, the military's testing a, a variety of use cases. Uh, it can fly remotely, so it could do resupply. It could get soldiers out. Um, any soldier can learn how to fly it as well- Mm-hmm...
• 6:06
  so that really opens up a lot of flexibility. In a relatively short period of time.
• 6:09
  Right.Do you have any applications or have you put someone who is not trained to fly it in it and have it remotely flown somewhere, like transported? Not yet.
• 6:18
  Well, we're looking to do some things like that in 2026, so more to come. Um- You could move a dog around, for instance. [laughs] Yeah. You have dog delivery- Exactly [laughs]... to some- somewhere.
• 6:26
  Sounds like a good use in my, from my opinion. Yeah, yeah. Um, tell me, so, um, what is the cost on a unit like this? Uh, so our base price is $190,000.
• 6:36
  Uh, from there you can add accessories like a trailer for, you know, easy towing, uh, rapid chargers, lighting, radios, even ADS-B transponder so other air traffic, uh- Mm-hmm...
• 6:47
  and air traffic controllers can see where you're at. You have a paint sealant package. Oh, yeah. Yeah. [laughs] Yeah. Up- upgraded paint delivery. You gotta talk to the car dealers. They'll teach you how to do that one.
• 6:54
  E- exactly. Um [laughs] Exactly. And so, um, when, when can I buy one? You can buy one now. Uh, if you go to pivotal.aero, A-E-R-O. Uh, we're taking pre-orders. Uh, the deposit is $9,000. Mm-hmm.
• 7:06
  Um, and that includes your flight training experience, and we'll put you in line for an aircraft, uh, delivering in 2026. Oh, my goodness. So, like, delivering very soon. Yes, very soon. And where are these made?
• 7:16
  Uh, we're in Palo Alto, California. So not too far from here. Not too far. Not too far. And in the US? Yeah. Probably very hands-on. Uh, how many people make these? Like, how many people...
• 7:24
  I mean, it seems like a, a very, um, early, so it's probably like a lot of very highly trained specialists. Not a lot of people, but- Yeah... people that really know what they're doing. Absolutely.
• 7:33
  The, the, the Pivotal engineering, uh, teams are, are incredible. Uh, the, the company's a little over 100 employees now.
• 7:40
  Um, so we're, you know, engineering, manufacturing, flight test, uh, sales, marketing, the whole, the whole bit.
• 7:47
  Um, but the team has done a really incredible job at designing an extremely efficient, lightweight, simple to fly, and simple to own aircraft. I'm really proud of the team. Uh, finally, let's talk about safety.
• 7:58
  You mentioned some safety features. You yourself are a helicopter pilot, correct? Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Okay. And so what are the differences in helicopter safety versus this vehicle?
• 8:08
  Well, it's kinda apples and oranges a little bit. A little bit. Um, you know. But they're, in my opinion- [laughs]... they're both in the air. Yeah. And you could fall from a distance- Totally...
• 8:15
  and not have a good experience, so. Well, uh, you know, uh, you know, traditional mechanical control systems have a lot of single points of failure. Mm-hmm.
• 8:24
  Uh, we have redundant backup systems on all the major components. There's triple redundancy in the computers, the pitot-static, the GPS, the radar altimeters.
• 8:33
  Uh, it's a great sensor suite to kinda talk to the computers and keep the aircraft stable. Um, we can operate on six out of eight props and still fly.
• 8:42
  Uh, and ultimately there is a ballistic parachute that would bring the entire aircraft down if you lost more than that. Um, and so last thing is it does float. An emergency landing will put you down on water nicely.
• 8:55
  Um, so, you know, overall this is, is heavily automated. It's got great redundancy and backup systems. Um, you know, helicopters can autorotate, so that's a great, uh- Right... safety feature. Right.
• 9:07
  [laughs] Um, you can't autorotate in one of these, but- [laughs]... the, the parachute'll do, you know. All, all right. Uh, tell me one more time what the website is so if anyone's interested they can check it out more.
• 9:15
  It is pivotal.aero, A-E-R-O. Very nice, Cal. Thank you so much. It was great to meet you. You as well. Thanks. Maybe I'll fly one sometime soon. I hope so. [laughs] I hope so.
• 9:25
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• 9:29
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• 9:37
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