The FAA on Friday proposed special certification conditions for Skyryse’s SkyOS flight-control system, a fly-by-wire platform being installed in the Robinson R66. Skyryse’s R66-based Skyryse One replaces the helicopter’s conventional controls with a single control stick, touchscreens and software-controlled flight systems designed to manage many functions normally handled directly by the pilot.
FAA Focuses On Control-Limit Awareness
The FAA proposal centers on how pilots will recognize when the helicopter is approaching the limits of its control authority. On a conventionally controlled R66, the position of the cyclic and pedals relative to their physical stops gives the pilot an indication of how much control authority remains. SkyOS removes the direct mechanical relationship between the cockpit controls and the main- and tail-rotor controls.
“For the context of this special condition, the term ‘suitable’ indicates an appropriate balance between nuisance and necessary operation,” the FAA said.
The proposed requirement would have SkyOS provide pilots with an indication when primary flight controls approach the limits of their available authority.
Skyryse Moves Through Certification
Skyryse applied for a supplemental type certificate for the R66 installation in April 2023. The company has positioned SkyOS as a simplified flight-control platform intended to automate or simplify tasks including takeoff, landing and aircraft stabilization. Skyryse announced in February that the aircraft had entered for-credit flight testing with the FAA.
The proposed special conditions would become part of the certification basis for the modified R66 and apply specifically to issues created by its fly-by-wire controls.
The FAA is accepting public comments on the proposal through Oct. 13.
Why do I not trust this? As a rated helicopter pilot, I’m trying to understand why you would want this. Yes, both hands and feet are involved in flying a helicopter but it gives you more control over the helicopter. Putting a fly-by-wire computer controlled interface between the pilot and the flight controls separates the pilot from the controls. Having observed the problems associated with self-driving cars and having managed software development projects for over 20 years, I have reservations about software engineers’ ability to anticipate all of the possible failure scenarios. I’m also curious about how you would do an autorotation with a fly-by-wire system.
Software engineers go out of their way to look real, but do not! They appear to live in their own little world, separate from the rest of us! And they rarely have to use their own software. Which I take to mean, avoid them like the plague! Software engineers view is never real!