Electric flying car awes Whitefish Christian Academy students

On Thursday, Oct. 10, the buzz of a Blackfly – a prototype of one of the world’s first ultralight, fixed wing, all electric aircrafts – made a stop in Whitefish, flying into the Whitefish Christian Academy for a school presentation by pilot Timothy Lum.  

BlackFly, made by Palo Alto based company Pivotal, is a personal air vehicle resembling a futuristic flying car. The aircraft is made from carbon fiber reinforced epoxy, has two 13.6-foot tandem blades and weighs 313 pounds with a carrying capacity up to 250 pounds.  

Lum, a 61-year-old retired veteran who lives in the Northern Cascades in Twisp, Washington, had students and teachers in awe as he launched the BlackFly plane from the school and flew it to Glacier Airport as a part of the demonstration. Lum also has experience in the forest service and as a flight paramedic. He served in the military with a WCA parent, who connected Lum with the school for the visit.  

While Whitefish Christian Academy does not have an aeronautics class, Rachel Erickson, head of school, believes these types of visits fit well into the school’s philosophy of education.  

“We hope these kinds of visits inspire our students to love their studies,” said Erickson. “We hope that love is for both the beauty of the subject itself, but also for what those subject studies may one day produce – a pilot, an engineer, or perhaps the next inventor of something as complex and thoughtful as BlackFly. The sky is the limit.”  

    Pilot Tim Lund lands a BlackFly in Whitefish. (photo provided)