Oshkosh 2021 Opener Flies BlackFly Wo-Manned Flight Electric Amphibious Aircraft - Ready to Buy One?

[@dmaschy599]

I am 80 years old,I hope I get to stay around to see this thing fly again.

[@bikersoncall]

I hope you do too!!

[@Drift-fpv]

Good on you mate I hope you see these things flying people to work just like we drive cars it will come

[@tommytruth5996]

You won’t…sorry. These types of complex toy aircraft have been around for decades.

[@Drift-fpv]

@@tommytruth5996 I think you’re wrong mate nobody thought a car could do 400 miles on a battery until Tesla done it we have the tech just needs somebody to put it together then develop it

[@tommytruth5996]

@@Drift-fpv Oil companies and Government aren’t ready for people to commute to work and go to the grocery store in an aircraft yet. Follow the money and the bureaucrats. It may be a different story where you come from but here in USA, this is far far from reality. Notably, Tesla cars are still mostly driven by wealthy soccer moms. They are not practical for working class blue collar families.

[@foilhattiest1]

I dunno if something that forces you to look straight up at the sky during takeoffs and landings is the best design approach. I'm not a pilot but I think that's when I would want the best visibility of the ground and things around me personally.

[@choppergirl]

tell it to Elon Musk!

[@thefixer8457]

just read your post and was thinking how safe could it be having such limited visibility during takeoff

[@makesumwake]

have camera pointing at ground and display inside

[@timwegman5776]

They probably do have cameras pointing at the ground however you got to remember this is based off of drone technology that does total autonomous flight so I'm sure the landing is assisted or if it isn't it can be

[@kristofferagustin6315]

they should just flip the seat and controls and they should good to go

[@pencilguin]

3:57 Note that the wind sock and the flag in the background agree that this demo took place with significant wind. To me, that's impressive and addresses some of the complaints about the conditions needed to fly the thing. I've never seen this in person, but as to the complaints about forward visibility, it seems to me that a forward facing camera angled downward would provide a great view for a screen inside the cockpit. I really hope they did that. Lastly, with regard to the lack of wheels - I believe that the design had to be amphibious because that changes the allowable weight to fit in the ultralight category. Having a wheel still seems possible, but I guess they chose to keep the cockpit easy to seal.

[@carbide1968]

When does the flying start? They didn't go through all that trouble just to go up 20 feet and over 100 and back down did they?

[@paulallen-01]

Apparently they did

[@notthesamecc1927]

i almost feel like the pilot should face the other direction and it could be flown like the Slave 1.

[@johnbgibbs]

@@nothinghere1996 Their careful flying ruined the presentation. Landing is dead easy. You take it to a suitable spot and landing assist puts it down, if I understand it correctly. The seated angle is correct for cruise. I think they are "flying" the thing too carefully at this stage. They needed to get up, accelerate to cruise and do some convincing figure of eight maneuvers at cruise speed - and far less time hovering. I think they brought it out too early - they needed to be confident with their aircraft. I think the concept is brilliantly simple from a mechanical perspective. Good for fun and as an aerial run-about, but the small span, biplane could never deliver an efficient cruise. For what it CAN do, the design is very clever and should deliver good bang for your buck, if they can get numbers up. Unfortunately selling aircraft is much harder than selling Tesla cars, which cannot be manufactured rapidly enough to meet demand. I wish them well - I think it is an intelligent design.

[@johnbgibbs]

In cruise the fuselage kind of stands up a bit, and the seat will be at the "right" angle for piloting an aircraft, with fantastic visibility.

[@zzzxxzzz3248]

No glide when power fails !

[@davefroman4700]

It is not going to matter. This vehicle is being designed to be 100% autonomous drone taxi. NO pilots needed.

[@davefroman4700]

@@zzzxxzzz3248 you think it does not have redundant systems? It can fly with a motor out no issue, in fact it do it will 3 gone.

[@flyboy98]

Great to see so many young people engaged in aviation! The future is bright!

[@comfortablynumb9342]

Except these new machines will fly themselves, pilots won't be needed.

[@studiodevelopers2467]

@@anthonyg4671 Got to be level She was tilted back At least have it the other way so that she's upright. Looking down. Not down with head upside down like that

[@SpartasEdge]

55 seconds in the air, not really 'aviation' lol

[@comfortablynumb9342]

@@SpartasEdge how long was the Wright brothers first flight? Much shorter and much less controlled. The way tech improves it will be 55 minutes soon.

[@SpartasEdge]

@@comfortablynumb9342 How many decades ago was that? It's laughable that you're comparing this to what the Wright Brother's dud without the technology 😄

[@demef758]

"Who's the pilot?" "The one who weighs the least."

[@willierants5880]

And has blonde hair and tight yoga pants.

[@maxpayne6271]

kristina menton

[@ThornsOfOurTime]

wo-man lol

[@nickhammersonrocks]

WE'RE SO GLAD THAT THE PILOT HAS OBVIOUSLY MAINTAINED AN EXCELLENT PHYSICAL TRAINING REGIMEN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ............ FOR THE SAKE OF THE TEST FLIGHT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@ronharmsen8466]

Neat idea. Wonder if there is room inside to have a gyro type stabilized seat, so the pilot is able to sit facing forward no matter the angle of the lift wings?

[@Aem2512]

Smart!

[@frosty6960]

@@Aem2512 But when it moves forward at speed its angled differently, unlike hovering

[@sourov671]

P

[@antondichtl6557]

I know it´s not easy...But you should consider a tilting seat with some windows at the bottom. I see a lot of potential for this radical design. Well done.

[@anthonygordon9483]

Either that or put a camera at the bottom

[@bernzeppi]

Seeing as it mostly flies belly-up, be good to put a windscreen on its belly sos you can see where ya going.

[@darthgardner]

Thumbs up on that,cant say i like how its so..nose up all the time.

[@kmaclean77]

Helicopters have “chin-bubbles” for this reason. Smart.

[@edwinthomas618]

I think it would be practical to have batteries underneath pilot so windscreen on belly may not be feasible

[@rocky_racoon3183]

Wow, modern tech invents a new way to die every week it seems.

[@Szaone]

"When we look at modern man, we have to face the fact that modern man suffers from a kind of poverty of the spirit, which stands in glaring contrast to his scientific and technological abundance. We've learned to fly the air like birds, we've learned to swim the seas like fish...and yet we haven't learned to walk the Earth as brothers and sisters." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

[@e.a.r.9155]

*Blame* Communists, Leftists, Racists (like BLM, KKK, Antifa), Democrats, Islam, and Atheists.

[@creatorsfreedom6734]

gross

[@dwayne4715]

@@e.a.r.9155 You forgot Finger pointers👉.

[@dwayne4715]

@@e.a.r.9155 I agree with you .If you're trying to solve problems creating a list of who to blame for the current predicament is no help.

[@ronsykes5035]

The DIELECTRIC VORTEX Technology by Ronald Frederick Sykes just G it learn more Superior Levitation for your personal spacecraft

[@MrHansen]

Best Blackfly video I have seen on youtube. Thanks for sharing.

[@MNDashcam]

I was at Oshkosh this year. Tons of really awesome stuff to see.

[@danielmconnolly7]

Oh my Gosh, you were at OshKosh... 😄

[@The.Sky.Driver]

This thing is an NTSB report waiting to happen.

[@Brucev7]

at 1 Time .......kzbin.info/www/bejne/iKbPY3h_etWDqNU

[@kevinstraus1478]

Anything that flies is one bad day from a NTSB report

[@33vortex]

Most challenging aspect of this design is yet to come, a cup holder for the pilot!

[@trezapoioiuy]

And a sound that doesn’t make everybody around wish they had a SAM

[@voron27]

not a problem at all. tilting holder or a gimbal like will do

[@benjimun1]

The BlackFly was awesome to watch as well

[@eddiel798]

That’ll be a wonderful flying vehicle when the antigravity module is installed.

[@mikebailey7071]

Tough comments here, it's a start. I really flew (not far) with real person (light weight) but it's a start. I wish them the best.

[@robinmyman]

Yep!

[@wingslevel]

@@robinmyman I like wings. Not computer controlled rocks

[@nigelcarren]

Genuine question: In the event of a birdstrike or catastrophic power failure, what's the back-up to ground? Because I am assuming unlike a super-light this can't glide back to earth, so does it have a parachute? Either way, nice to see innovations making it off the drawing-board! BRAVO 🏆

[@CrustaceonsReef]

That’s my issue with it. It’s essentially just a drone and like a drone, without a way to glide or safely descend in the event of a failure, it’ll just crash…like a drone.

[@marcv2648]

Keep dreaming.

[@Omegaman1969]

I think it has an emergency parachute.

[@craigfarber6714]

It has a chute.

[@CrustaceonsReef]

@@craigfarber6714 Even still, an airplane can glide as a failsafe with a parachute as a backup to that. A helicopter can autorotate as a failsafe and some actually use a ballistic parachute as a backup. But BlackFly relies entirely on a ballistic parachute. There is no passive backup to that and the big problem here is, it takes time and altitude to deploy that parachute. We’re talking at least 100 feet. I wouldn’t want to be in that thing at fifty feet and have a catastrophic failure that the chute couldn’t make up for.

[@yannih1782]

If that's the best demo flight they've got to showcase the capabilities of their product at the most renowned international airshow there is, I'll pass big time...

[@zestydude87]

Agreed. The way it lifts off nose up to the way it lands unevenly...seems kind of wonky

[@yannih1782]

And could the visibility be any worse???

[@lacantinadicrono798]

and lets see it operated in 20kts wind please

[@warpedweirdo]

And let's see it flown by an average-sized male, for a longer duration, over a larger distance. Not because I have anything against women, but because I have a suspicion the test pilots need to be "ultralight" if the machine is to lift off for more than a few seconds, if at all.

[@shannonm3841]

@@warpedweirdoi was thinking the same thing, if you weigh 200lbs it probably wouldn't have the juice to land safely with their extremely short demo.

[@robwagnon6578]

How is the thrust to weight ratio, does it struggle or is it cruise capable? The simplicity of this design astounds me, well done!

[@mattaku9430]

@JesusLovesMe But It's not really pathetic, there are some knowledges applies, but i have no idea why, for example, wing are soo wide.

[@unbekannternr.1353]

The pioneer days are back strong, this will change air traffic alot. Gustav Albin Weißkopf (1st motor flight!) would be proud!

[@jakemeyer8188]

Just throw a gimbal cam on the underside of the nose with an LCD in the cockpit (with an artifical horizon for extra flair!) and that blind forward view on takeoff and landing is solved. Cheap, light, and easy. Not much more than a back-up camera on a car...and serves pretty much the same purpose...

[@oldschoolcfi3833]

Forward visibility? I mean, if you've ever flown a tail dragger, like a steerman or similar, forward visibility is not an issue. For a VTOL aircraft, even less so.

[@tcruise77]

@@oldschoolcfi3833 Not when you are planning to land in a narrow with full of trees around. This is designed for future air taxi applications

[@jbl7092]

Maybe just add glass windows on the sides and below where practical would enhance downward visibility and cost less than a camera and monitor.

[@jakevonpluggenheimer2850]

I have a feeling they have prox sensors and don't need the camera. Since it just pops up and pops down the only issue is not smacking the ground really hard when you come down...and a prox sensor pretty much solves that. Having said that...personally I'd like a camera view.

[@jomomma8754]

@@oldschoolcfi3833 Im guessing you missed the part where the aircraft hovers and obstructs the pilots view?

[@markpaolino4264]

What happens when you lose power? Somehow, I don’t think that will glide well or auto-rotate.

[@jamessurber853]

@Steve Arthur But of course, in order to deploy a parachute, the thing would have to be at a reasonable altitude. I think you can still get killed by falling from 400 ft.

[@rogerfroud300]

@@jamessurber853 - You can get killed falling 20 feet, never mind 400.

[@artnickel7624]

It would be interesting to have the specs like speed, range, battery duration…

[@electricaviationchannelvid7863]

It is in the interview on my channel...

[@eligebrown8998]

I think one video said 25 miles

[@4buzze1]

Is she staring straight up at the sky or can she see through her legs and the floor. Cool I guess but still a long way from anything even remotely wantable. My friend has a tiny ultralight with a tiny engine and tiny prop less than 5 gallons and he can get 100s of feet up then just idle on currents like a glider for prob hours. He does not have a license for it. He dont need one and he built it himself. Let me know when the drones can go up more than 20 feet for 5 miles

[@papasquat355]

@@4buzze1 It would be cool if you weren't launching upside down like a rocketeer. Starting off facing forward in a seated position could be a positive selling point. That, and being able to fly 25 miles.

[@electricaviationchannelvid7863]

@@4buzze1 This one is VTOL and more capable range/altitude/payload wise than regulations allow...

[@eduardojosevillarroellored7534]

fantastic concept!

[@clarencehopkins7832]

Excellent stuff bro

[@coopermagli4482]

@ 2:11 Steve Henry looks and says "I bet I can take off shorter".

[@PistonAvatarGuy]

That's not Steve Henry.

[@Justin_Reviews]

🤣🤣

[@frontagulus]

It would be good to see it do a high-speed pass so we could see what it would be like in transit, plus some info from the current draw to see how much it changes when the wings/struts are providing lift.

[@inglwud5625]

Yes I want to see more than hovering!

[@jonnie2bad]

i suspect this is as fast as it can go

[@flight815]

It’s not made for transit. It’s made for recreational use.

[@barryscott6222]

@@jonnie2bad No it's not. There are plenty of other videos out there of it travelling fast, straight and level.

[@bejay69]

@@barryscott6222 With or without the weight of a pilot?

[@kingcoreyair]

So I get to hover in a nose up attitude, go forward a couple feet then do an awkward nose up landing. I hope this is not all the finished product can do, because I opened this video thinking I was going to see this thing fly.

[@Jiyuu69]

Jetson One is the future, this looks like it was made in the 50s

[@korbell1089]

that's the one I want!

[@amallee3361]

Jetson One needs more power to keep aloft. All the lift is generated by the props. Blackfly has wings that can provide lift and will have more range for a given amount of energy. Jetson is more like a jetski whereas Blackfly is more of motorboat. Each has its advantages.

[@easemailboxes]

Without looking at bouyancy issues, just going by the form and movement of this craft it looks more suitable for a water take off and landing. It also looks like the pilots centre of balance and vision angle is prone to rapid change depending on the task the BF is performing. This might be hard for some inexperienced users to adapt to lowering its ease of adoption. Perhaps a pilot seat gimble mght help. Absoloutly love it and look fwd to maybe having one ..... one day.

[@jamesdavies1070]

I doubt you actually "fly" this, more likely open Google maps and sync a destination. I believe it has separation technology etc also.

[@smatchimo55]

Ease of adoption? seriously? If you want to sound smart, stop smashing random words together. That's just word vomit.

[@jamesdavies1070]

@@smatchimo55 what or who are you referring to?

[@easemailboxes]

@@smatchimo55 More than happy to have puked all over you then. :D

[@easemailboxes]

@@jamesdavies1070 Yep, that makes more sense thanks.

[@Mike-01234]

She looks about 100 lbs at most still kind of cool like to see it fly farther and higher

[@ExperimentalAircraftChannel]

"Ultralight" as they say! :-) Thanks for stopping by!

[@UncleKennysPlace]

The limit for ultralight (14 CFR 103) is 254 lbs. empty, without waivers. This likely pushes that.

[@stephenp7057]

There's something just a bit weird about this design. No one wants to be staring up at the sky during hover.

[@paulslevinsky580]

the pilot where's VR goggles

[@bikersoncall]

Stephen, I agree, they need more articulation with the wings. I think they can overcome that flaw.

[@4buzze1]

Vr nutn she just chucked some headphones on

[@bikersoncall]

@@4buzze1 You didn't see the helmet ?

[@nelsonsailor7524]

@@bikersoncall no helmet

[@glenbartholomew1058]

I am NOT a pilot, but I would love to fly this. I’ve seen some of your other videos, this vehicle seems user friendly, versatile and according to what you said at the end, clean, quiet and efficient. If Blackfly ever needs a spokes model, who is ordinary, let me know! 8 )

[@dhoyda]

By "spokes model" do you mean "civilian willing to die"?

[@TRak598]

@@dhoyda Flying this close to the ground is no more dangerous than driving a car. The difference here is that the collision with another speeding vehicle gives place to a small amount of vertical speed on the crash. Oh, and by that I don't mean that it is 100% safe. People die driving cars and on the final stages of landing small airplanes quite often. But still, you do drive a car and at least want to pilot a plane, I suppose?

[@sekarmelati]

Bravo. Btw what's the company name that produce the Battery and how high its energy density? Tx

[@heiko7520]

Jeah ok but was it really such a good Idea to build a Thing in which you hang - specialy on start and landing - overhead?...??

[@aurijustriksys2695]

So far I've seen only light female and male pilots fly it for a couple of hundred meters (I know it's 200lb limit). Would love to see a proper action of at least 5min flight though.

[@falcychead8198]

Female AND male pilots? Wow, both kinds?

[@jefferythomas4414]

Batteries are not going to give you that, ever. No matter how hard people push this nonsense. Oil will always be necessary for prolonged, efficient flight.

[@ruevers]

@@jefferythomas4414 is like Tesla scams for 1 thing 9 is failure, and the people se 10 seconds of fligth in youtube think is a great thing...LOL.

[@markdavid4897]

@@jefferythomas4414 After the last 2 years of the Scamdemic and poison shots, I'm ready for anything.

[@JoJoGunn1956]

@@falcychead8198 No, at least 995 genders.

[@jackmundo4043]

She’s beautiful. And I ain’t talking ‘bout that plane.

[@ryansmithza]

According to my calculations I'd need 8 of those to get me off the ground!

[@robinmyman]

😂😂😂

[@ExperimentalAircraftChannel]

hah! Well.... maybe they will make a "Super Duty" model in the future! :-)

[@trainliker100]

@@ExperimentalAircraftChannel Like pickup trucks with the "150", "250" and "350" models. But the numbers would have more meaning.

[@billmorris2613]

Ryan, are you saying you weigh 1,600 lbs?

[@johnbgibbs]

Cut the carbs?

[@steveguy1975]

Love the Jetson one 👍👌👏

[@portnuefflyer]

The very brief part showing forward flight looked interesting, but much too short!

[@johnbgibbs]

Exactly! They blew their debut. People need to see that thing leap up, QUICKLY orient to a comfortable seat angle and do some BOSS figure of eights at cruising speed. If they can't do that yet then they came too early and spoilt the grand entry they could have made. Everybody is complaining about the crazy seat angle as they have no idea that time spent at this angle should normally be relatively brief. The demo scared off more people than it attracted, most unfortunate.

[@extremeultralightaviation]

Battery was dead, need to recharge every 2 minutes of flight.

[@electricaviationchannelvid7863]

@@johnbgibbs Level flight is easier to control vs transient regimes and hover I think...

[@daszieher]

@@electricaviationchannelvid7863 it is about sweeping potential customers off their feet and lighting their interest. Hovering is far more demanding, admittedly, but most people don't know that.

[@electricaviationchannelvid7863]

@@daszieher Probably their non-public preorder book is already "full" anyway...I mean in relation to the production capacity...this eVTOL aircraft is going to be like one of those items where a used one can sell for more initially then the price of a new one...just because of wait times...

[@ronaldquint]

I congratulate the pilot and crew of this aircraft at “Oshkosh 2021” ! Success in front of the world’s best and brightest pilots in the world, on a windy day is extraordinary !

[@jamesofallthings3684]

What success? You people are braindead. This thing has a $2 MILLION dollar price tag and they hovered (not very well) for maybe a minute?

[@mitchellbarker9368]

It seems to me that this design is just different for the sake of being different, but at the cost of being impractical in several ways.

[@fanriadho]

such a young and talented engineer

[@barrylowery3097]

Very cool if you have a very short commute. The pilot is hot though, does she come with the black fly?

[@NowStopandThink]

This seems like a pretty primitive prototype considering the technology available now. Hopefully they will be on version 6 by the show next year, with a more practical and competitive model.

[@watermouse9296]

Jetson ONe looks WAY WAY WAY far advanced than this does. Also it seems in this one the pilot should be sitting in the opposite direction.

[@Jiyuu69]

yeah they just recycling this thing for views, it's not even practical.

[@petetherealrelentless6542]

@@watermouse9296 I’m buying a Jetson One.. we looked at this and they’re just worlds apart.

[@watermouse9296]

@@petetherealrelentless6542 Im jealous! Congrats if you do buy a Jetson, they look amazing!

[@jamesofallthings3684]

They're trying to sell these, as shown, for $2 million dollars and all these morons are praising them like it's some amazing innovation. A manned drone with paramotor performance.

[@Blowinshiddup]

I'd try to improve the visibility in the hover, I don't know if I'd go with cameras or a clear lower section (could be a structural issue there of course).

[@FraterPersistantia]

Clear lower side panels like in many helicopters would be nice. As a pilot, I like to see the ground when I’m near it.

[@pctrashtalk2069]

I don't like that you have to use removable wheels to move it. I think the VTOL is great but they should also feature the forward flying mode.

[@peter-e2q]

Pilot is a stunner!!

[@brandonnguyen5734]

The pilot is beautiful. Excellent.

[@yukon4511]

Amazing! 1 minute of flight. Wheel it back home.

[@punapirate]

Yeah - good point that is what I was thinking… bad marketing decision there… kinda demonstrated the lack of range, huh?

[@ksavage681]

Maybe thats all they were allowed?

[@bokhans]

Better safe than sorry, a crash there would have killed the project! I have seen longer and more advanced flights by them here on YT

[@yukon4511]

@@bokhans The battery and motor were probably overheating with the weight of the "pilot" onboard.

[@yukon4511]

@@bokhans This thing has been flying for years, and it still has no landing gear or pilot visibility on takeoff and landing. Vaporware Hans.

[@thecritterandthebutterfly]

It seems they were very limited in what they could do for this demo. I wonder if it was them or Airventure. Either way, not much of a demo for a major aviation event. Good luck to them in the future.

[@quadroneld]

This thing flies just like someone who bought a drone for the first time and takes it to the park for the first flight!

[@stephenbinion6348]

And…… It’s new.

[@mariomamo925]

JUST AWESOME A GREAT THUMBS UP

[@Zakalwe-01]

Are they planning to use that as a support asset on the Normandy beaches?

[@jakesavage1680]

Forget this drone, I'll take the pilot!!!!

[@jeff3741]

I think this design is going to be the beta-max of manned drones.

[@innercityprepper]

So it's superior to other drones but edged out of the market by an inferior, cheaper mass produced product?

[@bikersoncall]

What you are saying Jeff, is already available, so far what we've seen here is someone's idea, that might be practical eventually, too early to say today imo. The concept of lift via the fixed wings is novel, but I don't think that lift has been demonstrated, certainly not here in flight' , the wings were at about a 45, so I would think any beneficial lift would be countered by the air it pushes.

[@EscapeToTheOzarks]

VTOL flight, and especially electric VTOL, is some of the most demanding in regards to design and operation. So, seeing this advance is to be respected. The crowd that makes these advancements is small compared to most all the other areas in aircraft design. Much success to them and those others of you designing and building the next level of aviation technology!

[@abates3747]

the most demanding???... there are people literally bolting high powered RC equipment, along with $25 flight controllers (yes, literally $25 flight controllers) and successfully flying their butts further than this thing has flown in this demo. Some have even done it with gas engines. The high thrust to weight RC equipment required to get this done has been around for well over a decade now. And the test program has very little risk: build big multirotor, fly it with RC gear, put weight of human in it and fly it with RC gear, change flight controller settings until it's stable and smooth... then put someone's butt in it and fly it with the same RC gear. People have done exactly this many times over. Manned electric multirotors should be much further along than they are, it's a little surprising really.

[@EscapeToTheOzarks]

@@abates3747 You are talking to a VTOL AE whose began doing this years ago. If it was so easy, it would have been done many years ago. Encourage designers. So many are armchair commentators, but few are the doers. Go build yours and come back here with your flying machine.

[@abates3747]

um, sorry for the bad news, but you can't have been paying much attention to what others are doing or what has been possible for over a decade. Look at how old "KK" flight controllers are, more than a decade old. And the technology of brushless outrunners and lipos are at least the same age, and there has not been a revolution in large brushless power (like plettenbergs) or energy density of any lipos. Now, those two things together are what is flying in this DIY flying sleigh in this video here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eoGtknuhr5d0mtE

[@EscapeToTheOzarks]

@@abates3747 Nowhere in my original post did I say they were cutting edge. I stated "VTOL flight, and especially electric VTOL, is some of the most demanding in regards to design and operation." Ever since Da Vinci's copter concept until today, it is not the easiest field of aerodesign to master. I commended the Black Fly Team for their effort. They would not be demonstrating their work at Airventure if they had not accomplished something. Why does a very small group of people look for ways to tear down others work? We are all in this work together. We all benefit by encouraging others. If all goes well, my team will be at Airventure 2022 or 2023 with something many are really going to like. VTOL? Maybe! We will see! Until then, I encourage everyone to devote their energies to encouraging others. The STOL pilots compete and encourage each other on that very piece of sod, and VTOL enthusiasts should too. That is, in EAA terms, The Spirit of Aviation.

[@abates3747]

Apologies. You're right, and I should just look at it the other way; the knowledge of an experienced aeromodeller who is into multirotors and giant scale RC, actually has the demanding skills needed to build and fly a person carrying multirotor... like, exactly the set of skills needed, and have access to all the off-the-shelf components needed to do it rather cheaply. But naturally, building something for certification for the public, liability and such, along with proving redundancy and so forth is a more lengthy process.

[@janponcyljusz3621]

What sort of license would you need to pilot that? Helicopter or PPL?

[@Thomas1980]

WOW!!! Great!!!!

[@PistonAvatarGuy]

Wow, ingress and egress looks super easy! What a brilliant design!

[@Aviator168]

They sacrificed pilot comfort for design.

[@PistonAvatarGuy]

@@Aviator168 It was probably for weight, because they wanted it to be a Part 103 ultralight. Either way, it's ridiculous.

[@youhou2000youhou]

I am so much thrilled by the possibility, shown at the end, to add a black jacket to this design

[@MatHelm]

They only thing I would fly that doesn't have an engine out procedure is a glider.

[@mikes4564]

Thats just cool. And the pilot is gorgeous!

[@AUBREYTHOMAS1979]

That is a a very good proof of concept!

[@jimburns348]

That’s great if you’re into hovercraft. I really haven’t seen this thing do much more than hover. Be better if one could see it fly a track.

[@TChalla007]

Facts, they've been doing this for years.

[@jimburns348]

@@TChalla007 Hovering?

[@yvandaniel8050]

Agreed! This thing is not "flying"

[@TChalla007]

@@jimburns348 Yep. remember the Moller M400 skycar VTOL flying car. I know this is electric and not gas.

[@robertweekley5926]

Dig up more clips on KZbin! Or Check out their Website, for more! See www.opener.aero/

[@vaprex]

Wow, would love to have one of those!! The aircraft is fairly impressive too...

[@Alanstrainworld]

That 1 minute. Flight didn’t sell it to me.

[@borisjohnson1944]

I guess the first flight by the Wright Bros of only 12 seconds was a flop also?

[@Alanstrainworld]

@@borisjohnson1944 whole different ballgame…

[@borisjohnson1944]

@@Alanstrainworld LOL, no. this is just an experimental craft.

[@tonyhill5418]

Was she flying it? or was the guy on the ground with the remote control and tablet flying it?

[@jpdemer5]

Fixed wings and fixed props are nice features (saves weight and complexity), but they make it necessary to tilt the whole craft to transition from hover to flight. I suppose the wings need to be at 90° initially to have zero forward thrust; maybe pusher props would allow them to be closer to flight attitude at takeoff? Also - anybody know how they transition it from hover to flight? Increase rear prop speed, maybe?

[@dont1265]

Having to lay on your back to take off and land is an awkward feeling... make the wings pivot....

[@markwilson5407]

I'd rather be flying a Gyrocopter

[@roadstar499]

yes..if you are already a good gyro pilot its way better... i don't like this design at all...in a few years they will have a much better choice.

[@austntexan]

with that blonde German pilot. Holy schneikies she's smokin.

[@austntexan]

@@roadstar499 Agreed. It looks impractical and the weight shift when it touches down is not a benefit at all. You want to touchdown to be solid with zero movement. When the battery tech catches up and they're able to dump more amps to allow for a less efficient, but more sensible design, we'll see this sector come to life.

[@jayb2617]

so did no one think it might be a good idea to get it landing gear that keeps it level!

[@Wyatt277]

True, but adds weight

[@MrBenedict317]

Why the pitot tubes are mounted mid section?

[@AL.N-music]

What's the reason for the 'Dove' body? I'm curious.

[@BudFox559]

I'll be more impress when any of them can fly above ground effect for any length of time.

[@horstmartino6089]

Connect it with an eletric cable to ground power so it can double range, service ceiling and payload... never seen such a senseless performance... ask Mike Patey for advice...

[@waynejones6144]

Yeah, it should be able to go a long way with that 100ft drop cord, mild sarcasm.

[@AlanpittsS2a]

Yeah cause mike patey builds practical planes, his new cub is awesome as far as engineering is concerned but it is far to heavy and will not be doing average bush flying and stop landings like a normal cub. Don’t need 600 horse on a cub

[@BodyWellnessHub]

I hope machines like these never reach production. Can you imagine the noise in your neighborhood with every man and his dog owning one? What a damn nightmare.

[@Mr_Joseph979]

"I'm quite certain this is only the beginning"- Of course it is!

[@Friedfoodie]

The skills of the pilot are awesome.

[@ThornsOfOurTime]

*clears throat* wo-manned ; )

[@sucapizda]

Just waiting for that alien battery technology now. You know, the small power cube that will last for 10 years with out a charge. Until then, its all horse dodo.

[@121felps]

graphene battery are like this

[@rungsat1]

That battery, we keep calling The Ark of the Covenant.

[@surtrpicks]

Yeah but improvements already on batteries. In time. In time.

[@jsullivan05]

This whole thing was underwhelming AF. A 30 second hop....... WOOOOOOW...... Come on Horsefly, show us more than a small hover, show us a manned flight that takes off somewhere, travels 25 miles, and then lands somewhere else far away.

[@lacantinadicrono798]

in a 15kts crosswind too

[@Chris-bg8mk]

These things take time….

[@Randomguy-ep7zl]

@@Chris-bg8mk Agreed. The Wright flyer went a little over 100 feet its first flight and was up about 3 to 4 seconds in flight? But we kept at it.

[@warpedweirdo]

@@Randomguy-ep7zl In a world where long distance flight is common, cheap, and safe, a tiny hop isn't all that impressive. Electric motors have potential for lots of power, but the batteries driving those motors are very limited by energy density. I think we're seeing the effects of this here. Battery technology hasn't yet progressed to the point that electric VTOL craft good for anything other than novelty are feasible.

[@Randomguy-ep7zl]

@@warpedweirdo Are you still flying on a Wright flyer? You entirely missed my point. The world will continue to evolve idea's and technologies without you. I imagine you figure what we have in technology right now is the end of the line, eh? Lol. I guess we'll just leave you behind.

[@bobjoatmon1993]

NOT IMPRESSED The rearward reclining flight position of the pilot gave little apparent forward visibility. Basically it's just a large awkward drone that didn't show much flight capability.

[@johnblechasgarage]

Look at the laptop guy... he was flying it. Antenna says it all... Complete deception here!!!

[@Emo666Cali]

Why didn't you figure out a way to keep the wheels on ?

[@new-knowledge8040]

Can this thing glide to a safe landing if there is a system failure ? Does it have a built-in parachute ??

[@jamesaleman]

If it has 30 minutes of flight time, is electric, and is self flying; sign me up for commutes to work. I won't mind plugging it in on a roof for the return trip. I think a 20 mile range will cover most one way trips. Strap a drone chute on it and build an airbag system like NASA did for one of the rovers...good to go.

[@arp2303]

Lmao that sounds fun

[@DonziFreak]

30 minutes? It flew like thirty seconds and thirty feet.....that’s far from practical.....

[@arp2303]

@Randy Baumery I think your right but hoping for a cool utopian science fiction future isn’t entirely bad yk?

[@arp2303]

@Randy Baumery your right that is a problem that needs addressing, and solid state batteries are far from where they need to be! Tho lithium iron does seem promising - though I feel that the obesity crisis in America is a separate problem with the state of our economy, social problems, and urban development

[@arp2303]

@Randy Baumery we could harvest more from other planets!

[@kwaailight]

If that was executed as a planned demo to wow spectators, it failed. Hesitant in hover, short straight flight with a seemingly random number of degrees pivot away from crowd, followed by hesitant landing. That did not wow .. 🙄

[@ksavage681]

Whaddaya want? Barrell rolls?

[@lacantinadicrono798]

@@ksavage681 lets start with a standard circuit

[@blindfreddy9157]

Is noise polution a concern for anyone? Imagine the noise with these things flying around residential areas.

[@GearZenChannel]

Yes, I would much rather some nice quiet jets.

[@blindfreddy9157]

@@GearZenChannel They aren't intended to displace jets. Plus, jets fly at 10s of thousands of metres altitude and take off and land at designated airports.

[@dronepilot260rc]

Nice! Wonder how many amps it pulls to just hoover

[@edwinjilabaasa]

After seeing it fly, I am not sure if it was intentional to fly it backwards.

[@awebuser5914]

The thing has never demonstrated sustained level flight and significant maneuverability to an impartial audience, EVER! A 30-second hop in a remote-controlled "aircraft" does not mean that it in any way shape or form a useful aircraft. It's also been "in development" for more than 10 years and if that doesn't set-off any serious alarms in your head, nothing will...

[@rolandthethompsongunner64]

I agree. Ridiculous useless toy.

[@pdtech4524]

The same logic could be applied to the work Orville and Wilbur Wright did on the first ever controlled and powered aircraft, the Wright Flyer. The point is this design of aircraft is innovative, sure it will take time to develope fully and with the right battery technology will be flying more sustained flights. That was a definite flight, short but it took off, flew and landed. 😎👍

[@awebuser5914]

​@@pdtech4524 It's not "innovative", it's a complete joke of an utterly impractical design. It's a glorified multirotor toy that the moronic designers didn't figure out that scaling becomes a huge problem. This "project" is a complete dead-end and has wasted tons of, just as stupid, backer's money... There are many viable, useful, ultralight aircraft already in existence; garbage like this is a pointless distraction from actual aviation development. Also, there is no battery technology that will ever make this practical. Power density won't change appreciably in the near future; it's all about reliability and cycle-life.

[@pdtech4524]

@@awebuser5914 The same was said about electric cars 20 years ago....🤔😁

[@JLange642]

Would have been nice to see a bit more “flying” and less hovering. Long way from production for regular use.

[@souleater307]

think of the rules and regulations they have to fly under when theyre at a airshow with air traffic around and crowds of people? the faa barley lets them fly but it still did the thing we all wanted to see.

[@pilotpeego1820]

Not feeling warm, and fuzzy about this aircraft.

[@rolfen]

Pretty impressive and smart design

[@drones7838]

Yep

[@phillipsandusky3795]

friggin genius design!

[@richardmartin4965]

looks like its not getting enough lift rear, need to up the power to get that back up into a flight position, also not sure how it would take off again from an amphibious landing, wouldn't the props hit water as well

[@axelhopfinger533]

Unfortunately, there is still no battery technology yet, which is lightweight enough to give electric flying vehicles like this any usable flight duration and range. And until there is, things like this will be interesting experimental engineering concepts, but nothing more.

[@rodtukker1904]

Until then we use lightweight girl pilots.

[@azarcreativo]

solar battery or eolic recharge????

[@daiaki1975]

A lot companies are trying to use gas turbine engines for generator. But yeah, unreliable, noisy and expensive, still there are too many issues.

[@barrymorrisss]

@@daiaki1975 When automobiles first came out, you couldn't drive them coast to coast (not even if the roads were there). Give electric as long to develop.

[@bikersoncall]

@@barrymorrisss No one will argue that with you, we are not there. Most of us believe that the day will come. However, on a side note, Elect isn't any cleaner than other power sources today , not on a practical scale, they try to convince electric power is clean, that is a load of blsht. One day it probably will be , but then like the advent of the automobile...

[@MrStratbat]

A hover machine..I didn't see anybody fly it like they were actually trying to sell them...I have doubts this thing will fly forward and makes turns very well...

[@HigherPlanes]

If they can get it to not handle like a cork in a wave pool, I think it'll sell.

[@choppergirl]

They said the same thing about the 14.bis

[@flipper184]

They said that at Kittyhawk.