We Fly: Skyryse One

Here's an inside look at developing a safer, simpler, and smarter helicopter.

Max Trescott

Wednesday, April 02, 2025 at 03:00 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

Skyryse One is being certified on the versatile Robinson R66 turbine helicopter. [Credit: Skyryse]

Key Takeaways:

Skyryse's SkyOS is introduced as a potentially transformative "operating system for flight" designed to revolutionize general aviation, especially helicopters, by significantly simplifying controls and enhancing safety.
It replaces traditional helicopter controls with a single joystick and incorporates advanced automation, dynamic envelope protection, and simplified emergency procedures (e.g., automated autorotation) to mitigate pilot error and increase stability.
The Skyryse One, a modified Robinson R66 equipped with SkyOS, is the initial product expected in 2025, with Skyryse aiming to extend this simplified, safer flight interface to fixed-wing aircraft and other helicopter models.

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Major inflection points in GA are rare and only occur every couple of decades. GPS and glass cockpits are two examples from the past 40 years, and both have provided profound, long-term impacts on safety and efficiency. Skyryse’s SkyOS, which it describes as an operating system for flight, has the potential to be another transformative change for helicopters and possibly fixed-wing aircraft as well.

If you’re a fixed-wing pilot, it would be easy to dismiss the Skyryse One helicopter—a single control stick, IFR-certified version of the Robinson R66—as a curiosity that doesn’t apply to you, but please keep reading. Skyryse is in the process of revolutionizing the way helicopters are flown, making it easier and safer for anyone to fly those equipped with SkyOS. In fact, some of the first orders have come from fixed-wing pilots who want to transition into flying a helicopter in the safest way.