Opener BlackFly v1
BlackFly v1
Opener
Palo Alto, California, USA
www.opener.aero
The BlackFly v1 is the second aircraft in the BlackFly series, preceded by the Rebel and followed by the BlackFly v2 and BlackFly v3. The first flight of the BlackFly v1 marked an important turning point for the company, which changed title to "Opener" and relocated to Palo Alto, California following the flight.
As the second prototype in the series, the BlackFly v1 makes several key departures from its predecessor. Unlike the Rebel, the BlackFly v1 was not used as a passenger aircraft. It is wider and longer than the Rebel by five feet, and taller by two. It is also 74 pounds heavier than the Rebel and capable of carrying a larger payload.
Opener, 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
After the flight of the BlackFly v1, Leng 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: Rebel SkyKar 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
Classification:
- Ultralight (USA)
- Basic Ultralight (Canada)
Structure:
- Epoxy-impregnated carbon fiber
Specifications:
| Specification | BlackFly v1 |
| First Flight | August 11, 2014 |
| First Manned Flight | N/A |
| Passengers | Payload only |
| Structure | Carbon Fiber` |
| Max Operator Height | N/A |
| Max Operator Weight | N/A |
| Propulsion | 8 Custom Motors |
| Width | 13 ft 7 in (4.1 m) |
| Length | 13 ft 5 in (4.08 m) |
| Height | 5 ft (1.52 m) |
| Empty Weight | 310 lbs (140.6 kg) |
| Max Payload | 200 lbs (90.7 kg) |
| Battery (USA) | 8.0 kWh |
| Battery (Int'l) | 8.0 kWh |
| 120 V @ 15 A (20% to 100%) | 7.4 hrs |
| 120 V @ 20 A (20% to 100%) | 5.5 hrs |
| 240 V @ 50 A (20% to 100%) | 1.2 hrs |
| 240 V @ 2x50 A (20% to 80%) | N/A |
| Max Wind | 25 mph (40.23 kph) |
| Temperature Range | 32°F - 86°F (0°C - 30°C) |
| Takeoff in Precipitation | No |
| Performance (@ Max Take-off Weight) | |
| Cruise Speed (USA) | 62 mph (limited) (99.78 kph) |
| Cruise Speed (Int'l) | 100+ mph (160.93+ kph) |
| Max. climb rate | 1000 fpm (5.08 m/s) |
| Max. descent rate | 1000 fpm (5.08 m/s) |
| Take off run | 3 ft (0.91 m) |
| Landing distance | 3 ft (0.91 m) |
| Range (with 25% reserve in USA) | 12+ miles (19.31+ km) |
| Range (Int'l) | N/A |
| Static Thrust (max.) | N/A |
| Safety | Fault-Tolerant Design |
| Noise Signature (Cruise @ 150 ft) | N/A |
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
