Opener BlackFly
BlackFly
Opener, Inc.
Palo Alto, California, USA
www.opener.aero
On July 12, 2018, Opener unveiled its BlackFly personal air vehicle, which is fully-qualified to FAA Part 103 ultralight standards. Based on FAA ultralight restrictions, the BlackFly is limited to a maximum speed of 62 mph (100 km/h) and 25 miles (40 km), however its maximum performance characteristics are significantly more than this, as shown in the specifications table below from the Opener website and its display at Oshkosh 2018.
The company, which is backed by Google co-founder Larry Page, provides a timeline on its website. Engineer Marcus Leng (now CEO of Opener) began developing the concept in August 2009, and made what appears to "the first manned flight of a fixed-wing all-electric VTOL aircraft" on Oct. 5, 2011, at his home in Warkworth, Canada in Ontario, 90 miles east of Toronto.
In Canada (unlike the US), ultralight aircraft must be registered. Leng registered three prototype ultralights with Transport Canada under the company name SkyKar, Inc.:
- The Rebel (serial number 0011) as C-IJQV on Dec. 15, 2011
- BlackFly (001) as C-IKLT on March 11, 2014
- BlackFly (002) as C-IKLY on May 6, 2014
The second generation aircraft, the more advanced BlackFly v1 first flew in August 2014; Leng then founded Opener and relocated the majority of its operations to Silicon Valley, "to pursue an unencumbered and accelerated development timeline" with more investment capital. Additional milestones followed:
- August 2009: Vehicle concept created
- October 2011: BlackFly v0 first flight
- August 2014: BlackFly v1 first flight
- February 2015: First 2-minute hover with 200 lbs (90 kgs) payload
- February 2016: BlackFly v2 takes flight
- November 2016: First 30 mile flight with 200 lbs (90 kgs) payload
- September 2017: 10,000 miles flown with 200 lbs (90 kgs) payload (minimum 30 mile flights)
- October 2017: BlackFly v3 first flight of pre-production model
- March 2018: BlackFly v2 first manned flight
- September 2018: 20,000 miles flown with 200 lbs (90 kgs) payload
- March 2019: Pre-production manufacturing begins.
In March 2019, pre-production manufacturing began. During EAA Airventure 2019 (July 22-28, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, USA), Opener trade show booth displays stated: 23,000 plus miles flown (37,015 plus km), over 2,300 flights had taken place, BlackFly can be disassembled and fit into a small truck, you can quickly assemble the aircraft in 30 minutes and fly, it has supercharging which means it can charge to 80% in 25 minutes and it has take-off and landing assistance.
Description:
- Single seat
- PAV (Personal Aerial Vehicle)
- VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing)
- Fixed tandem-wing aircraft
- Full electric propulsion
Classification:
- Ultralight (USA)
- Basic Ultralight (Canada)
- Amphibious-capable (freshwater)
Controls:
- Joystick, fly-by-wire electrical controls
Structure:
- Epoxy-impregnated carbon fiber
Landing surfaces:
- Grass, asphalt, snow, ice
Safety:
- Triple-modular redundancy
- Fault-tolerant design
- 8 fixed propulsion units
- 4 redundant elevon pairs
- Ballistic parachute (optional)
Operating conditions:
- 25 mph max wind (take-off and landing)
- 0 - 30 °C temperature range
- Non-precipitating
Specifications:
| Specification | SkyKar | BlackFly v1 | BlackFly v2 | BlackFly v3 |
| First Flight | October 5, 2011 | August 11, 2014 | February 11, 2016 | October 20, 2017 |
| First Manned Flight | October 5, 2011 | N/A | March 19, 2018 | N/A |
| Passengers | 1 Passenger | Payload only | 1 Passenger | 1 Passenger |
| Structure | Epoxy Impregnated Carbon Fiber | Carbon Fiber` | Carbon Fiber | Carbon Fiber |
| Max Operator Height | 6 ft
(1.83 m) |
N/A | 6 ft 2 in
(1.88 m) |
6 ft 6 in
(1.98 m) |
| Max Operator Weight | 160 lb
(72.6 kg) |
N/A | 200 lbs
(90.7 kg) |
250 lbs
(113.4 kg) |
| Propulsion | N/A | 8 Custom Motors | 8 Custom Motors | 8 Custom Motors |
| Width | 8 ft 3 in
(2.5 m) |
13 ft 7 in
(4.1 m) |
13 ft 7 in
(4.1 m) |
13 ft 7 in
(4.1 m) |
| Length | 8 ft 3 in
(2.5 m) |
13 ft 5 in
(4.08 m) |
13 ft 5 in
(4.08 m) |
13 ft 5 in
(4.08 m) |
| Height | 3 ft 9 in
(1.1 m) |
5 ft
(1.52 m) |
5 ft
(1.52 m) |
5 ft
(1.52 m) |
| Empty Weight | 237 lbs
(107.5 kg) |
310 lbs
(140.6 kg) |
310 lbs
(140.6 kg) |
313 lbs
(142.0 kg) |
| Max Payload | 160 lbs
(72.6 kg) |
200 lbs
(90.7 kg) |
200 lbs
(90.7 kg) |
250 lbs
(113.4 kg) |
| Battery (USA) | N/A | 8.0 kWh | 8.0 kWh | 8.0 kWh |
| Battery (Int'l) | N/A | 8.0 kWh | 12.0 kWh | 12.0 kWh |
| 120 V @ 15 A (20% to 100 %) | N/A | 7.4 hrs | 7.4 hrs | 7.4 hrs |
| 120 V @ 20 A (20% to 100 %) | N/A | 5.5 hrs | 5.5 hrs | 5.5 hrs |
| 240 V @ 50 A (20% to 100 %) | N/A | 1.2 hrs | 1.2 hrs | 67 min |
| 240 V @ 2x50 A (20% to 80 %) | N/A | N/A | N/A | 35 min |
| Max Wind | N/A | 25 mph
(40.23 kph) |
25 mph
(40.23 kph) |
25 mph
(40.23 kph) |
| Temperature Range | N/A | 32°F - 86°F
(0°C - 30°C) |
32°F - 86°F
(0°C - 30°C) |
32°F - 86°F
(0°C - 30°C) |
| Takeoff in Precipitation | N/A | No | No | No |
| Performance (@ Max Take-off Weight) | ||||
| Cruise Speed (USA) | N/A | 62 mph (limited)
(99.78 kph) |
62 mph (limited)
(99.78 kph) |
62 mph (limited)
(99.78 kph) |
| Cruise Speed (Int'l) | N/A | 100+ mph
(160.93+ kph) |
80+ mph
(128.75+ kph) |
80+ mph
(128.75+ kph) |
| Max. climb rate | N/A | 1000 fpm
(5.08 m/s) |
1000 fpm
(5.08 m/s) |
1000 fpm
(5.08 m/s) |
| Max. descent rate | N/A | 1000 fpm
(5.08 m/s) |
1000 fpm
(5.08 m/s) |
1000 fpm
(5.08 m/s) |
| Take off run | N/A | 3 ft
(0.91 m) |
3 ft
(0.91 m) |
3 ft
(0.91 m) |
| Landing distance | N/A | 3 ft
(0.91 m) |
3 ft
(0.91 m) |
3 ft
(0.91 m) |
| Range (with 25% reserve in USA) | N/A | 12+ miles
(19.31+ km) |
20 miles
(32.19 km) |
20 miles
(32.19 km) |
| Range (Int'l) | N/A | N/A | N/A | 40+ miles
(64.37 km) |
| Static Thrust (max.) | N/A | N/A | N/A | 900+ lbs
(400.2 kg) |
| Safety | N/A | Fault-Tolerant Design | Fault-Tolerant Design,
Triple Modular Redundancy |
Fault-Tolerant Design,
Triple Modular Redundancy, Ballistic Parachute (optional) |
| Noise Signature (Cruise @ 150 ft) | N/A | N/A | N/A | 72 dBa |
Company Insights:
Resources:
- Opener website
- Opener Facebook
- Opener Twitter
- Opener Instagram
- Opener YouTube Channel
- Opener LinkedIn
- US Patent: Electrically powered aerial vehicles and flight control methods
- Video: BlackFly – Features, Opener, Jul. 12, 2018
- Video: BlackFly – Flight, Opener, Jul. 12, 2018
- Video: BlackFly - Official Launch, Opener, Jul. 12, 2018
- Article: Opener BlackFly Debuts at Oshkosh, Vertiflite, Sept/Oct 2018
- Article: BlackFly ‘flying car’ to hit the market in 2019 for the price of an SUV, Big Think, Oct. 17, 2018
- Video: BlackFly - Vertical Takeoff to Cruise, Opener, Oct. 19, 2018
- Video: BlackFly - Farm Flyby, Opener, Oct. 26, 2018
- Article: It Came From Warkworth, Watershed Magazine, Winter 2018
- Article: The Green Awakening, Skies Magazine (page 60), Feb./Mar. 2019
- Article: BlackFly Wants To Be The Flying Car You Can Finally Buy Next Year, And For Cheap, Forbes, Jul. 12, 2018
- Opener press release: Opener Announces Silicon Valley Luminary Backing, Jul. 12, 2018
- Opener press release: Opener Unveils First Canadian-Qualified Ultralight All-Electric Personal Aerial Vehicle, Jul. 12, 2018
- Opener press release: Opener Unveils First USA-Qualified Ultralight All-Electric Personal VTOL Aircraft, Jul. 12, 2018
- Article: OPENER Donates a Historic BlackFly eVTOL Vehicle to the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Museum, Globe Newswire, Jul. 22, 2019
- Article: Competition is fierce as innovators work to develop affordable, personal aircraft, Oshkosh Northwestern, Jul. 25, 2019
- Article: Oshkosh e-AirVenture, Vertiflite, Sep/Oct 2019
- Opener press release: OPENER Names Ben Diachun as CEO, Jan. 14, 2020
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