Flying Cars Race for Real: Eight Pilots, Three BlackFly eVTOLs and a Bullseye Finish in Ohio

Flying cars stopped being a futuristic dream on October 17, when eight pioneering pilots took to the air at Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport in Ohio for the Great American Electric Air Race. Three BlackFly vertical takeoff and landing aircraft rotated continuously between racing, recharging and demonstration flights, and spectators rarely went five minutes without a flying car overhead during a full day of electric flying car races, precision landings, high-speed challenges and aerial exhibitions.

The competition opened with the Bullseye Bash, a precision landing challenge in which all eight pilots maneuvered toward a giant bullseye and tried to land as close as possible to its center. Brandon Goff took the victory with a landing just 18 inches from dead center, a result that shows flying car precision is every bit as demanding as flying car speed. Heather Chirtea, the first female flying car pilot and an aircraft owner, was among the pilots and framed the day as proof that the future of flight is happening overhead right now.

Test flights began at sunrise and the competition was already underway when crowds arrived. Events like this matter because they move electric vertical flight out of promotional videos and into public, repeatable operations: recharging between heats, flying in front of families and children, and being judged on measurable skill. The remaining hurdles are certification, airspace rules and cost, but the Ohio race showed the aircraft themselves can already perform.