Skyryse has successfully implemented single-swipe takeoff and hover for a production helicopter for the first time, writes Nick Flaherty.

Each time, Skyryse performed a textbook-perfect seamless and stable hover. While it wasn’t the first time the aircraft achieved this, having accomplished it countless times in test vessels, it is the first time it has been achieved in a fully-conforming, triple-redundant production unit without any backup conventional controls in the cockpit.

“Until today, every helicopter ever built has taken off using basically the same mechanical controls that Igor Sikorsky used in his first flight 85 years ago,” said Dr Mark Groden, CEO of Skyryse.

“This latest accomplishment – following our successful 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 takeoff every time with just the swipe of a finger.”

Skyryse updated its SkyOS universal operating system to be scalable to make any aircraft optionally piloted. SkyOS runs on SkySentinel, a proprietary, triple-redundant computer and fully-digitised, fly-by-wire backbone, developed by the company.

“The benefit of digitising the controls is that it gives us the flexibility to create the most ergonomically-advanced cockpit ever designed,” said Groden. “This updated design not only makes the aircraft easier and safer to operate, but also allows us to create a truly modern cockpit that will become the standard for aviation.”