• 10 Sep 2021 09:21 PM
• 0

Skyworks Picks Eagle Technologies

Skyworks Aeronautics Corp. announced in July that it had selected Newport News, Virginia-based Eagle Technologies, LLC, to design and fabricate the rotor system for the Skyworks’ eGyro electrically powered gyrodyne. Eagle has developed and built numerous rotor systems, including for Sikorsky’s X2 and Raider high-speed helicopters. The company has more than 200 orders and options for its eGyro, received a $100M investment commitment from GEM Global Yield fund in February and is planning to go public through a SPAC transaction.

The company also announced that it has started initial certification of its Hawk 5 gyroplane, powered by the Rolls-Royce M250-B17 turboshaft engine. Skyworks’s UK team will certify the Hawk 5 through the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) certification process and then exercise bilateral agreements for certification ratification with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The five-seat Hawk 5 is based on the four-seat Hawk 4 (shown) that its predecessor company, Groen Brothers Aviation, first flew in 1997 (see “Advantageous Autorotation,” Vertiflite, July/Aug 2018).