SKYRYSE CELEBRATES SIXTH ANNIVERSARY OF FIRST UNMANNED VTOL FLIGHT

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Mar 29, 2023, 08:00 ET

LOS ANGELES, March 29, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Skyryse, bringing trust, safety, and accessibility of flight for all through its flagship technology, commemorates the sixth anniversary of the first lightweight unmanned vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) flight achieved on March 29, 2017. This aviation milestone has become a driving force in Skyryse's innovative approach to bringing the joy and freedom of aviation to all as it heads toward FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) certification.

Skyryse sets aviation milestone on March 29, 2017, with first unmanned VTOL flight.

Six years ago, Skyryse set out to develop a technology stack, making flying a general aviation aircraft simpler and safer. Founder and CEO Dr. Mark Groden and a team of four spent nearly a year working to earn FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) approval to fly an unmanned aircraft above 55 pounds (above typical drone weight). The team achieved the first lightweight unmanned flight within three months of their initial seed funding.

Building on the first unmanned flight, the company operated the highest volume, full-service, multimodal door-to-door air-taxi service in the world, leading to the development of the first cost-effective instrument flight rules (IFR) VTOL. Skyryse has grown from a team of four to nearly 100 with a similar objective of making flying simpler and more accessible, democratizing the skies.

Skyryse's intuitive, highly-automated, airframe-agnostic, and universal flight control system accelerates accessibility, safety, and overall ease of flight by decades. Anyone can complete an entire flight from skids up to set down with the same familiar tap-and-swipe gestures used on a mobile device.

"Celebrating this anniversary is a reminder of our humble beginnings and an extraordinary triumph in our company history," said Groden of Skyryse. "We continue to celebrate our early achievements to bring increased ease and safety to every flight across general aviation."

On average, there are more than 300 general aviation deaths each year in the United States, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Most of these incidents occur due to loss of control or pilot error, an issue Skyryse and FlightOS address head-on. Skyryse FlightOS can reduce general aviation fatalities and allow anyone to enjoy the freedom of piloting an aircraft. Skyryse's FlightOS offers 10^-9 safety standards (one-in-a-billion chance of catastrophic system failure) through a full fly-by-wire system with triply redundant, dissimilar architecture, increasing general aviation safety to commercial air transport levels.

FlightOS has already achieved 100% means of compliance for its full-stack technology solution after completing a major System Review with the FAA, including hardware, software, and human-factor components. This achievement accelerates the company's path toward certification, focusing on simplified vehicle enhancements of already certified airframes.

About Skyryse
Los Angeles-based Skyryse is bringing trust, safety, and the accessibility of flight for all through FlightOS, its easy and intuitive integrated flight control system. FlightOS removes many aircraft management complexities during standard flight operations, inclement weather, and emergencies. Skyryse has raised over $260 million from leading investors, including Fidelity Management & Research Company, Monashee Investment Management, ArrowMark Partners, Venrock, Eclipse Ventures, Cantos, Stanford University, and Bill Ford, Executive Chair, Ford Motor Company. For more information, visit www.skyryse.com or watch videos of Skyryse in action on YouTube.

SOURCE Skyryse