19 December 2023
+VIDEO A startup developing safety technology has received a Guinness World Record award for the first automated autorotation landing by a rotorcraft.
Californian company Skyryse performed the automated autorotation, simulating engine failure, in a Robinson R66 helicopter last summer. The tech can also be developed for fixed-wing aircraft.
Skyryse will unveil the first production helicopter featuring its technology — including the world’s first simplified control system — in Q1 of 2024.
“Every year, more than 400 people lose their lives in general aviation accidents just in the United States alone,” said Mark Groden, founder and CEO of Skyryse.
“Fully automated autorotation is just one example of how our technology will bring a commercial grade of safety and beyond to general aviation.”
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Skyryse’s tech is a highly automated flight control system capable of being installed on any aircraft and is the first and only system that works with the pilot through a reimagined HMI (Human Machine Interface) to manage complex emergency procedures — including one of the most dangerous and harrowing scenarios in all of general aviation — the failure of a helicopter engine.
In this situation, helicopter pilots have less than two seconds to perform a fully manual series of multiple control movements in a maneuver called an autorotation. Because of the complexity of current control systems, no helicopter has ever been able to automate this maneuver until now.
Using proprietary redundant flight controls and a suite of sensors, the Skyryse system quickly recognises a power failure and sets in motion multiple procedures, and with a push of a button, makes the landing uneventful.
From entry into steady descent, it lowers the pitch, aligns the nose, manages aircraft stability, completes the flare, and lands gracefully at the desired landing location.
Penultimate stage of the Skyryse automated autorotation: the flare
