Somewhere in Livonia, New York, a guy named Chad Panipinto is hovering over his own yard in a carbon-shell pod hanging under eight spinning rotors. He has no pilot license. He does not need one. The machine is a YIVTOL S-Zero, a single-seat electric VTOL from Shenzhen that enters the US as an FAA Part 103 ultralight, and Rochester’s 13WHAM caught the whole thing on camera. His fiancee, Tanya Stefanella, says flying it is like playing a video game. Chad describes the ride as “sitting in the middle of a blender. A ninja blender.” Somehow that is the most honest flying car review we have ever read.
What it is
The S-Zero is basically a giant drone you sit inside. Eight independent rotors hold up a sleek one-seat cockpit, and you steer with a joystick while a flight computer does the hard balancing work. Batteries swap out in about two minutes instead of making you wait on a charger. YIVTOL says China’s aviation regulator gave it a special flight permit in September 2025, it showed up at CES 2026, and the first American owners in Tennessee and Illinois took delivery in July 2026. According to 13WHAM, the Livonia couple’s aircraft arrived from China last month, and they believe they are only the second owners in the country after a buyer in Tennessee.
The numbers depend on who you ask and which version you buy. 13WHAM reports roughly 50 minutes of flight, a top speed of 65 mph and a ceiling of 1,500 feet (a height Chad admits he would not dare try). US dealer Rise Vertical quotes 15 to 40 minutes of average flight time depending on the model and a computer-limited 60 mph. YIVTOL’s European dealer, Slinger Aviation, lists the PLUS at about 30 minutes and the long-range MAX at about 50. Translation: lighter pilots and bigger batteries fly longer, and nobody is crossing a state line in this thing.
The price tag, the real one
On paper, the S-Zero starts at $59,000 for the BASIC model. The PLUS is $79,000, and the bigger versions climb past $100,000 before anyone says the word “tariff.” Then the extras show up. Rise Vertical charges $19,900 for its import, customs and freight package, a spare battery set is $10,000, a ballistic parachute and airbag combo is $20,000, and even an extra pair of propellers is $2,000. Chad told 13WHAM that if you pay $120,000 for the machine, tariffs run about 30 to 38 percent, then there is sales tax and $8,800 in shipping. All in, the couple say they have spent about $250,000 on the aircraft and add-ons. That is a lot of money for a blender.
No license? Read the fine print
Part 103 is the FAA rule written in 1982 for hang gliders and powered parachutes. Qualify, and you need no pilot certificate, no medical, no registration and no airworthiness certificate. But the rule has teeth. A powered ultralight has to weigh under 254 pounds empty, carry one person, top out at 55 knots (about 63 mph) and stay away from congested areas, most controlled airspace and nighttime flying. It is for recreation and sport only. Low Altitude Economy, which covers this space closely, points out that YIVTOL’s own figure of “below 115 kg” lands at about 253.5 pounds, a whisker under the limit, and that no independent party has weighed one yet. In other words, the S-Zero is legal the way a carry-on bag is legal: just barely, and someone should probably check.
Where to get one
You cannot add one to your Amazon cart, sadly. In the US, YIVTOL sells through dealers like Rise Vertical and CloudRider Aviation in Athens, Tennessee, which offers a tethered demo flight for a $1,000 deposit that counts toward a purchase. Aviation Week reports YIVTOL has delivered about 60 aircraft worldwide with a backlog of roughly 200, so this is not a one-off science project.
GadgetKing take
We have been promised flying cars since The Jetsons, and GadgetKing has covered plenty that never left the brochure. The S-Zero is different because regular people are actually flying it over their own backyards right now. It is also a reminder that the future arrives as a pricey toy first: six figures, short hops, daylight only, and a legal status that hangs on a few pounds. Chad says his next goals are a flight to his farm in Geneseo and a holiday run dressed as Santa Claus, lights and all. Honestly? That is exactly the right use for it. Just do not ask us to ride in the blender.
Sources: 13WHAM (video and owner interview), Low Altitude Economy, Aviation Week, Rise Vertical, CloudRider Aviation and YIVTOL. Images: Slinger Aviation / YIVTOL.
More personal flying machines: the Joby 16-rotor electric VTOL, the Lilium Jet air taxi and the Samson Switchblade flying car.
