One-Person EMS eVTOL Available for Flight Today

With their ability to provide relatively affordable flights in easy-to-operate-and-maintain packages, Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft hold great promise for EMS operations. Because of their small size and one-person carrying capacity, such eVTOLS are ideal for dispatching EMTs/paramedics into remote areas to treat victims until ground-based ambulances can arrive.

Unfortunately, many eVTOLs are so new that they’re not available for immediate deployment. But some will be ready sooner than others, like the Helix eVTOL made by Pivotal that will be available in early 2026. Configured with a conventional airplane enclosed cockpit, the Helix has eight electric propeller engines: four on the front wing and four on the back. Although it flies, lands, and parks horizontally, the Helix takes off at a steep angle from a sitting position, thus eliminating the need for a runway. It can fly for up to 20 minutes on a single charge for up to 20 miles, cruising at 63 mph, and takes 75 minutes to recharge. (To bring it home, simply recharge it on location with a level 2 charger or load it onto a travel trailer.)

The Helix eVTOL is equipped with a whole-aircraft ballistic parachute system. If the aircraft fails, just pull the chute and float back safely to earth. That’s a life-saving feature offered by few other ultralight aircraft. Add the fact that the Helix is easy to fly thanks to its fly-by-wire onboard software, touchscreen interface, and joystick control, and it’s an accessible quick-response option for EMS agencies needing options in remote and rural areas.

Ken Karklin is Pivotal’s CEO. Located in Palo Alto, California, his company has about 100 employees and has been producing eVTOLs since 2011. “The Helix is our fourth-generation eVTOL,” he said. “It’s fault-tolerant and offers redundancy thanks to its triple modular flight computers. We are the only eVTOL company worldwide to deliver products to paying customers. With a total of over 9,000 flights overall, 1,747 of them being human piloted, Pivotal’s eVTOLs are pretty far along on this journey compared to just about anyone else.”

In EMS, the purpose of the Helix eVTOL is to bring an EMT or paramedic to a scene where a victim needs urgent attention, rather than transporting them out. “This could be a cardiac issue, traumas due to gunshots or multiple car pile ups, or something else,” Karklin said. “In any case, the name of the game is boots on the ground providing care sooner while conventional forms of help are still on their way to the scene.”

Because it’s a simple aircraft to fly, Helix pilots only require two weeks’ training. As a result, an EMS agency’s existing EMTs and paramedics can learn to fly the aircraft, rather than requiring the hiring of specialized pilots.

Maintenance (and storage) is also simple. “Routine replacement of parts tends to be around a very short list of wear items such as props that can get chipped or banged up when they make contact with grass or gravel or other foreign objects,” Karklin said. “Occasionally we have had to replace motors that overheated. We have had to replace batteries from time to time, but we've actually not reached a point where we can say, ‘okay, after 300 hours of operation, you must replace this.’”

The only downside: The Helix eVTOL is only cleared for daytime flights in visible flying conditions. “As well, being licensed as an ultralight aircraft, you shouldn't be flying over packed stadiums or dense cities, but you can certainly fly over roads and between structures and that kind of thing,” said Karklin.

Since the Helix is relatively new to EMS agencies, Pivotal has been showing it off to first responders around the country to drum up interest. “Our deployment plans, simply put, are to find a couple of really good partners to collaborate with to develop the mission and to train a number of EMS pilots,” Karklin said. “The eVTOL starts quickly and can be pulled out of a garage, so dispatching it is efficient compared to a fixed-wing aircraft or helicopter. So now is a good time for EMS agencies to contact us for details.”

Pivotal can be reached through their website at pivotal.aero.