Skyryse, a Californian-based developer of flight software applications, announced on February 5, 2025, that it has completed the world’s first fully automated set-down of a production helicopter using just the swipe of a finger on its SkyOS flight software app. The test follows seven years of the company developing the software that it hopes will eventually open up the possibilities of fully automated flight for both fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft.
The development comes just a month after the company executed a stable, fully automated hover using just the SkyOS application with its ‘Skyryse One’ specially adapted Robinson R66 testbed aircraft. The accomplishment was then successfully validated numerous times, including with Skyryse’s CEO Dr Mark Groden at the controls of the aircraft.
According to the company, on each occasion, the aircraft lifted off and transitioned into a seamless and stable hover. This milestone marked the first time that such a feat has been achieved in a fully conforming, triply-redundant production aircraft without any backup conventional controls in the cockpit. With this latest development, the aircraft can now take off and land simply through the use of the SkyOS software installed in the cockpit.
“Until today, every helicopter ever built has taken off using the same mechanical controls that Igor Sikorsky used in his first flight 85 years ago,” said Groden. “This latest accomplishment, following our achievement of the world’s first fully-automated autorotation, the world’s first aircraft flown with a single control stick, and the world’s first engine start with the swipe of a finger, will allow any pilot, regardless of experience level, to achieve a perfect take-off, every time, with just the swipe of a finger.”
According to a company statement, Skyryse’s recent successes come after years of rigorous flight testing on multiple test platforms, and “demonstrates the company’s progress toward its mission to make flying simpler and safer and allowing anyone to fly any aircraft.”
Since 2018, Skyryse has been developing its SkyOS product, designed to be the world’s first universal operating system for flight. SkyOS is designed to simplify and standardize flight for any aircraft (rotorcraft and fixed-wing), in theory making it easier for any pilot to fly any aircraft, and for anyone to become a pilot.
The company states that its highly-automated Deterministic Expert AI system, when merged with fly-by-wire technology, four-axis control stick, and touchscreen interface, allows for an unprecedented level of flight automation, making it easier for pilots to focus on higher-level functions such as command and control. While SkyOS isn’t about removing the pilot, the company adds, it’s about “making current pilots better and making it easier for anyone to be a pilot.”
Making flying easier for all
The company aims to blend the differences of flying different types of aircraft into one software application. As the company adds, “Today’s aircraft are all different. The way you fly one aircraft is completely different from how you fly every other aircraft. They’re massively complex, requiring memorization of everything from hundreds of ridiculous, logic-defying acronyms to multi-step emergency protocols.”
”This type of complexity causes big problems. It makes aviation less safe and makes the barrier to entry for new pilots way too high. You should be able to fly any aircraft of any type with the same training, just like you can do with almost any car on the road today. To do that, you need to make every aircraft as simple to operate as a car. Just like a car starts by turning a key and drives by putting it into gear, an aircraft should start by swiping right and take off by swiping up.”
Despite the company’s critics claiming that it is ultimately working toward fully automating flight without the need for pilot intervention at any stage, this is refuted by Groden. He states that his company aims to make flying safer, cheaper, more accessible, and less complex but with human interface still very much part of the overall process.
”Human oversight is still essential to achieving the safest outcomes in flight. Even in highly automated systems like elevators, you need human oversight. From setting mission objectives to assessing real-time risks, human involvement in decision-making is crucial. having a human “in the loop,” or as part of the decision-making process, is essential to making flight today safer. Period,” Groden adds.
In October 2024, Skyryse announced that reservations for its Skyryse One First Edition helicopter had sold out in just six months. Early adopters secured their reservations for the First Edition aircraft for an introductory price of $1,800,000, excluding any additional customization options.
