A company with experts from SpaceX and Boeing has a new automated flight system that it claims will allow anyone to learn how to fly a non-commercial aircraft in 30 minutes

Brittany ChangMar 21, 2020, 18:35 IST

SkyryseSkyryse FlightOS.

Skyryse - a transportation technology company - has unveiled a system that the company claims will allow "a layperson [to] control an aircraft after 30 minutes of training."
The system is meant for non-commercial aircraft, including firefighting and military air support, and was built because there are more fatal crashes in those flights than in commercial ones.
The FlightOS automates flying controls to allow the pilot to focus on other functions, simplifying the process.
The system was designed to alleviate current issues in the aircraft-operating industry, such as potential pilot error and the multitude of resources it takes to train someone to fly an aircraft.
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Skyryse - a transportation technology company - has unveiled FlightOS, a flight-automation system that allows anyone to learn how to operate an aircraft within 30 minutes of training.

It's designed for non-commercial aircraft like firefighting and military air support, and was built to make flying safer.

Skyryse is composed of a team of people with backgrounds from companies like Tesla, Uber, Boeing, Ford, and JetBlue, its CEO and founder, Mark Groden, told Business Insider in an email. Its new FlightOS technology gives pilots the ability to operate an aircraft by using a touchscreen tablet or joystick, therefore simplifying the flight control process.

FlightOS can be used in any aircraft, Skyryse said, and the company claims the system will allow people to fly as well as "the best pilots on their best day using intuitive controls." That's done in part by using Skyryse's Flight Stack, a group of "automation technologies" that the company says will also allow it to popularize urban flights with an emphasis on safety.

That's important, as a Skyrse spokesperson said general aviation, which includes any flight that isn't gate to gate, is far more fatal than commercial.

"There are 7.46 fatal accidents per 100 million miles in general aviation as opposed to 0.05 for commercial airlines," the spokesperson said, adding that 85% of crashes are from operator error. "Removing that from the equation would drop the number of fatal accidents to 1.12 per 100 million miles."

Keep scrolling to see FlightOS, which Skyryse claims will allow flight to be safer:

See A company with experts from SpaceX and Boeing has a new automated flight system that it claims will allow anyone to learn how to fly a non-commercial aircraft in 30 minutes >>

FlightOS's on-board computers monitor the aircraft's limits, flight paths, and weather.

It also allows pilots to fly in lackluster conditions, even through low to no visibility.

The system also monitors the aircraft's paths and movements to detect any potential issues.

If an emergency does occur, the computer can respond to an array of situations, including a failing engine, drop in altitude, or emergency landing.

Groden said in a statement that Skyryse wants to make learning how to fly an aircraft as simple as learning how to drive a car.

The company claims that its FlightOS system can allow anyone to learn how to control an aircraft within 30 minutes of training. Skyryse said the simplification of flight operations through its FlightOS system will allow pilots to focus on "critical" tasks other than actually handling the aircraft, which instead will be done via the flight automation system.

Skyryse hopes to alleviate a multitude of issues that the company claims currently plagues the aircraft market: pilot shortages and error, unsafe flying in bad weather conditions, and the time and money it takes to train potential pilots.

The company says FlightOS could help industries and people like first responders, search-and-rescuers, and the military. It could also potentially alleviate the multitude of hours that firefighting and military medical-evacuation pilots spend on aircraft training, as the program allows pilots to be trained at a faster and more cost-efficient pace.

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A company with experts from SpaceX and Boeing has a new automated flight system that it claims will allow anyone to learn how to fly a non-commercial aircraft in 30 minutes

FlightOS's on-board computers monitor the aircraft's limits, flight paths, and weather.

The system also monitors the aircraft's paths and movements to detect any potential issues.

Groden said in a statement that Skyryse wants to make learning how to fly an aircraft as simple as learning how to drive a car.

Skyryse hopes to alleviate a multitude of issues that the company claims currently plagues the aircraft market: pilot shortages and error, unsafe flying in bad weather conditions, and the time and money it takes to train potential pilots.