Every air show has a few aircraft that everyone seems to be talking about and the 2025 SUN ’n FUN Aerospace Expo was no exception.
Like the embodiment of the aircraft flown in the 1960s cartoon The Jetsons, the Pivotal Helix, a single-seat, bubble-top Part 103 aircraft, captured the attention of the crowds at SUN ’n FUN.
All during the week-long expo, crowds gathered at the company’s exhibit, as well as at Paradise City to see the working model flying at the beginning of the STOL demonstrations.
The Pivotal Helix on display was wrapped in the design of “Under the Wave off Kanagawa,” also known as “The Great Wave” by artist Katsushika Hokusai.
Eight electric drone props and motors can lift a 220-pound person 20 minutes or 20 miles on a charge, according to company officials.
Operating silently, the Helix takes off and lands nose-up. Water landings are possible, but not recommended, company officials said.
It comes equipped with a ballistic parachute that pops out of the front. Add-ons include ADS-B In and Out and a radio.
One owner uses his to go from his house in the mountains to the local airport and has charging stations set up at home, the airport, and at friends homes. The flight takes five minutes, but traveling the same distance by car takes 30 minutes.
He noted that one Level-1 charger takes 75 minutes to charge the aircraft. Two Level-2 chargers take 45 minutes. Drone motors in the front charge separately from the motors in the back, he added.
Because the Helix qualifies as an FAA Part 103 ultralight, you don’t need a pilot certificate to fly it. However, you are required to complete initial and recurrent flight training, according to company officials.
For $200,000, you could have one of your own.
For more information: Pivotal.aero
“Operating silently…”? Not! And what’s the BRS minimum recover altitude? No gliding or autorotation in that.
I have been watching this aircraft for some time. For the people who have a requirement for its unique capability, this is a wizard machine. It is certainly cheper than any helicopter.
Yes, there are ultralights that can do the same thing, but they require some runway. This is not THE way of the future, but for some people, it will be a way.
$200,000, which will turn into $300,000, for what? A toy that can stay in the air for maybe 20 minutes? Zero practical use in the real world.
$200,000 for what? It is not an airplane. Good thing it has a BRS. One could buy an entire fleet of true Part 103 ultralights for that money. No thanks.