Skyryse is taking refundable, non-transferrable $2,500 deposits for its Skyryse One, a Robinson R66 retrofitted with its SkyOS operating system featuring simplified, single-stick control and two touchscreens. The proprietary system offers an IFR-capable, aircraft-agnostic, triple-redundant fly-by-wire system.
The company is in the final stages of the FAA STC certification process and plans to offer the new-production helicopter for a base price of $1.8 million. The company said it anticipates receiving certification and beginning deliveries in 2025. Skyryse said SkyOS is designed to put “the pilot fully in command while freeing them from mundane, error-prone chores.”
That price includes a full four-axis flight control, dynamic envelope protection, fully automated autorotation, auto-pickup and set-down, hover assist, and on-screen swipe right to start. Add-on options are mainly concerned with interior fit and finish such as choice of seat fabrics, according to Ray Wert, Skyryse v-p of marketing. On Wednesday, Skyryse announced that Peter Blades—Tesla’s former lead designer for its Models 3 and Y, roadster, and semi concept—had joined Skyryse as v-p of design.
Wert said Skyryse has yet to determine if the package will be made available for retrofit or eventually licensed to OEMs as a factory installation, or which airframes to select for system installation after the R66. He said the company has had a means of compliance in place with the FAA since 2018, we well as excellent coordination with the agency and Robinson.
Customers who already hold a helicopter license will receive a flight training voucher good for six hours of training and will be cycled through the company’s training facility in coordination with their delivery date. Fixed-wing pilots can apply the six hours to the 20 in-aircraft hours required for their helicopter add-on rating. Skyryse has already built a simulator for the platform and plans to have it available for attendees to try in July at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
According to Wert, SkyOS is expected to draw more people to helicopters by providing greater comfort and confidence. The compact flight controls will not only free up more space in the cockpit but also reduce pilot fatigue. “You’re not going to be nearly as tired, for one thing,” he noted.
But Wert said the system’s real advantage is the sense of safety it conveys. “The kind of automation we provide [and] the safe flight envelope that we are able to create around the pilot are going to be transformative in terms of giving people back a sense of freedom in the skies and even more significant in terms of giving people a level of comfort they haven’t had in helicopters.”