Press release
31/01/2024
Rotor hosted guest of honor New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu in the first live flight test of its autonomous helicopters. The company-hosted event, which also included a tour of Rotor's new Research & Development Center and a naming ceremony for Rotor's R550X prototype, was attended by staff, their families, and invited VIPs.
The live flight of the R220Y, an uncrewed R&D aircraft based on the Robinson R22 2-seat helicopter, took place at Nashua Airport at around 2:30pm ET on January 30, 2024, before a crowd of around 100 people. The aircraft performed a full startup procedure, hovered in front of the audience, made turning maneuvers, and descended to land after approximately three minutes in the air. To the company's knowledge, this historic flight is the first time that an uncrewed full-scale helicopter has ever flown publicly. It marks an important milestone on Rotor's path to operational readiness for commercial missions.
The event highlighted the spirit of technological innovation in New Hampshire and included a tour of Rotor's campus, located on the former campus of Daniel Webster College, a site steeped in aviation history. Rotor's newly-renovated R&D Center serves as the backdrop to Rotor's revitalization of the aviation industry in New Hampshire, buoyed by the recently-announced R550X commercial helicopter program and the beginning of flight operations from a new Remote Operation Center.