Pivotal, a producer of light electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, has announced it delivered four of eight BlackFlys and two flight simulators for lease to MTSI for evaluation by AFWERX and the United States Air Force.
“The Air Force is evaluating Pivotal aircraft performance by assessing a host of benefits across diverse applications for the company’s proven tilt-eVTOL architecture, and testing a range of remotely piloted missions” according to the press release. “Selected by AFWERX and Modern Technology Solutions (MTSI) to participate in the Agility Prime initiative, Pivotal is providing the Air Force with pilot training and support services in addition to the aircraft and flight simulators. The program will operate out of New Braunfels National Airport, Texas, and from the National Advanced Air Mobility Center of Excellence at Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport, Ohio.
“The BlackFly is a fixed-wing aircraft built on Pivotal’s third-generation eVTOL platform. The entire aircraft tilts for vertical takeoff and landing, rather than wing assemblies or rotors rotating to reorient thrust, reducing weight, complexity, and eliminating multiple points of failure. At the heart of this vehicle lies a robust fault-tolerant design, bolstered by triple modular systems for safety and reliability. Capable of manned, unmanned, and optionally manned missions, the light eVTOL aircraft can take off and land on pavement, dirt, or grass –– there’s no landing gear, simply a fuselage wear strip. The BlackFly complies with FAA Part 103 (Ultralight) category in the United States for flight in Class G airspace.”
“Over the next eight months, we will fly eight BlackFly eVTOL aircraft in different environments to test their mission effectiveness and suitability in military uses,” said Vance Drenkhahn, Executive Vice President, DSD, MTSI.
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(Image: Pivotal)
