Charles Alcock is managing editor of the AIN Media Group, having rejoined the company in 2019. He has been an aviation journalist since 1986, and previously worked for AIN from 1990 to 2017, most recently as editor-in-chief. His main focus is on covering new aviation technology and business models, as well as international news.
Having been raised in the London area, Alcock studied at the University of Manchester in the UK and earned an honors degree in Politics and Modern History. He speaks English and French, and some German.

Managing Editor

Charles Alcock

Skyryse’s automated flight control system, FlightOS, has met all of the FAA’s means-of-compliance requirements, clearing the way for supplemental type certificates (STCs) applications, starting with the Robinson R66 helicopter. According to the company, the outcome of the recently completed system review means the FAA will not require additional rulemaking to cover any aspect of the system’s hardware, software, or human-factor components.
<a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2020-03-17/skyryse-launches-flightos-automation-system-ease-pilot-load" target="_blank">FlightOS</a>&nbsp;is intended to improve safety by reducing pilot workload and training needs rather than displacing crew from aircraft cockpits. Skyryse said the technology will bring commercial aviation safety standards to general aviation, which “suffers from risks associated with pilot errors and delays in poor weather.”
The equipment replaces some of the complex controls in a typical general aviation cockpit with a touchscreen tablet display and a joystick. Fly-by-wire hardware and software handle most of the core piloting functions, according to Skyryse, preventing pilots from inadvertently exceeding safe flight envelopes. The company claims that training pilots to interact with FlightOS takes only a few minutes.
California-based Skyryse said it designed the system to the 10-to-the-minus-nine (10-9) safety standards used as the benchmark for commercial aviation safety, which equates to a one-in-a-billion chance of a catastrophic system failure. The system is based on a triple-redundant fly-by-wire system with dissimilar architecture that removes mechanical complexity and adds “highly intelligent” computers.
Want more? You can find a longer version of this article at&nbsp;<a href="http://www.futureflight.aero/" target="_blank">FutureFlight.aero</a>, a news and information resource developed by&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;to provide objective coverage and analysis of cutting-edge aviation technology.

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