One of the most exciting innovations underway in general aviation, including business aviation, holds the potential to greatly improve safety while also making aircraft and rotorcraft much easier and more intuitive to operate.

Simplified flight controls (SFC) utilize advanced computer systems to reduce operator workload in several ways. They can be employed to automate certain operations, such as maintaining altitude or heading, and to combine separate controls for pitch, roll and yaw into a single joystick.

One leader in this space is Skyryse, which has developed an SFC system retrofittable to a variety of current aircraft. Founded in 2016, the company deployed SkyOS two years later on R44 helicopters used by the FBI, law enforcement and first responders in Tracy, CA.

Skyryse has since deployed its universal operating system on a turbine-powered Robinson R66 dubbed Skyryse One, which is now in testing with the FAA. “We intentionally focused on deploying SkyOS on rotorcraft because they’re the most complicated and inherently unstable,” said Skyryse Founder and CEO Mark Groden, adding the system is designed to be ‘aircraft agnostic.’

“There’s no world where customers are seeking aircraft that are more complicated,” Groden added. “The entire industry is demanding more intelligent, intuitive flight solutions that allow every pilot to command their aircraft efficiently and safely.”

Former NTSB Vice-Chair Bruce Landsberg, a past executive director of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) Air Safety Institute who consults for Skyryse, views SFC as a natural evolution of technologies already in use to enhance flight operations.

“On a per hour, per passenger-mile basis, flying in little airplanes is much safer than it was even 30 years ago,” Landsberg added. “Technological improvements are underway to make flying much safer and much simpler, with the training curve greatly diminished.”

SFC also holds potential sustainability benefits, including reduced carbon emissions over conventional aircraft from less required training time and more efficient takeoff and landing operations.

Automation and Redundancy

SkyOS replaces conventional mechanical flight controls with triple-redundant hardware and software centered on an intuitive human-machine interface to reduce pilot workload. Groden emphasizes that the approach makes the skies safer for everyone.

“Our core premise is that you don’t have to build or buy a new aircraft to make aviation safe,” Groden said. “We’re applying modern technology in a new, innovative way to solve a decades-old problem.”

Landsberg flew the SkyOS-equipped Robinson R44 while at the NTSB. “In original form, the R44 requires a higher level of expertise because it’s not the easiest aircraft to fly,” he said. “Even though I’m a fixed-wing guy, Skyryse said I’d be flying it after 30 minutes in the simulator. And they were right.”

As SkyOS nears certification, the industry is also preparing for widespread SFC implementation. In its recently enacted Modernization of Special Airworthiness Certification (MOSAIC) rule, the FAA established regulations for simplified flight operations (SVO) allowing pilots to operate SFC-equipped aircraft with as little as 20 hours of training.

“The MOSAIC final ruling is the most significant, transformative regulatory step toward accessible flight in decades,” Groden said, “and formally recognizes SVO like SkyOS as a path to safer, faster and more intuitive flying.”

The technology has also attracted interest outside the general aviation and business aviation communities. In 2024, the Skyryse partnered with Ace Aeronautics and the US Army to adapt SkyOS to the U.S. military’s Black Hawk utility helicopter.

The system is also optimized for the emerging advanced air mobility (AAM) segment, comprised of both conventional designs and electric-powered, vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft intended for urban and regional operations.

“We see potential in AAM,” Groden said. “Should eVTOLs become certified, they’ll need simplified vehicle operations like SkyOS to be successful, and none of them have that today.”

In fact, the greatest limiting factor to widescale deployment of SFC and SVO is arguably one of perception. “Our industry has a tremendous independent streak,” Landsberg said. “Luddites look down their noses even at existing technologies – glass panel avionics, parachutes and even GPS! – that make flying safer and more accessible.”

“Introduction of the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System [CAPS] in 1999 was arguably the last significant advancement in aviation safety,” Groden added, “and it propelled that company to be the top-selling general aviation aircraft manufacturer in the world, year-over-year. People recognize aviation safety isn’t where it should be, and demand for CAPS is such a clear indication that people want better.

“General aviation’s No. 1  problem is fatalities caused by task saturation, excessive cognitive loading and outdated technology,” he concluded. “Everyone wants the best safety technology in aviation and the entire world is moving toward intuitive controls. The real opportunity lies in leveraging automation to enhance human decision-making, empowerment and safety.”