FAA Floats Special Conditions for Skyryse Fly-by-wire R66

The FAA has published proposed special conditions for the certification of Skyryse’s fly-by-wire flight control system in the Robinson R66 helicopter. It notes that the fully digital system is a novel design feature not addressed by existing FAR Part 27 regulations for control margin awareness—a cue pilots normally feel, and one the fly-by-wire system will have to synthesize. Public comments on the proposal are due by October 13.

Skyryse of El Segundo, California, applied in 2023 for a supplemental type certificate to install its SkyOS flight control system in the R66 light turbine-single helicopter. A production-representative cockpit design for the converted R66, called Skyryse One, was revealed in January 2025, replacing mechanical controls with a single control stick and touchscreen displays.

Existing Part 27 rules—written to address hydromechanical flight control systems—assume that pilots gauge control margins by the cyclic and pedal positions relative to cockpit control stops. Skyryse’s fly-by-wire system removes the tactile link between cockpit controls and the main and tail rotor actuator positions. The proposed condition would require the system to make flight crews “suitably aware whenever the means of primary flight control approaches the limits of control authority.”

The special conditions apply only to the crewed conversion. Skyryse and Robinson separately agreed in June to adapt the R66 into an uncrewed variant for defense missions using the same SkyOS platform.