Frequently Asked Questions

Rotor is an independent company from Robinson Helicopter Company (RHC). However, we collaborate closely with RHC on engineering, certification, and supply chain. You can read more about this here.

The R550X is designed for a wide variety of uncrewed utility missions, including agriculture, firefighting, maritime, and other aerial work. It is not designed or certified to carry people.

We plan to produce a future version rated to carry passengers.

Today, for regulatory and safety reasons, you must be an FAA-certified helicopter pilot and a Part 107 remote pilot to operate the R550X. The R550X and Cloudpilot have a very high level of automation, keeping the pilot workload low.

Given the active development of technology and regulation in this space, these requirements may change in the future.

The R220Y, our R22-based aircraft, is a technology demonstrator. At this time, only the R550X is offered as a commercial product. Please contact us if you have a specific use case you'd like to discuss.

Yes, the R550X can be operated by a single pilot. Both single-seat and dual-seat GCS setups are available. Dual-seat setups facilitate pilot training, and are well suited for missions requiring crew handoff.

The R44 Raven II has a long history of operating in high-altitude environments, including in the Himalayas. The R550X retains the R44's service ceiling of 14,000 ft MSL and 9,000 AGL.

For detailed on performance at altitude, please contact us at sales@rotor.ai.

The R550X supports a wide variety of third-party mission payloads from trusted OEMs. These include gimbals, cameras, internal payload mounts, cargo buckets, plastic sphere dispensers (PSDs), winches / hoists, and others. Most products with an STC for the Robinson R44 Raven II are compatible with the R550X out of the box.

See a list of compatible payloads here.

For detailed questions, please contact us or email sales@rotor.ai.

The R550X is powered by the highly reliable Lycoming IO-540 engine, with redundant electronic engine controls. It uses conventional low-lead aviation fuel, also known as "100LL." We plan to produce future uncrewed aircraft powered by sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs), which will have net-zero emissions.

The R550X is powered by the Robinson R44's highly reliable internal combustion engine: the Lycoming IO-540. However, given the high commonality between Robinson products, we plan to produce a similar aircraft based on the Robinson R66, with the Rolls-Royce RR300 turbine engine. If this is important for your mission, please contact us at sales@rotor.ai to discuss specifics and timeline.

The R550X uses conventional low-lead aviation fuel, also known as "100LL." This is the most common type of light aviation fuel, and can be found at most airports. It can also accept 100UL fuel.

We plan to produce future variants powered by Jet A (based on the Robinson R66) and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

For a detailed payload vs. range curve, please contact sales@rotor.ai.

Rotor is pursuing a supplemental type certificate (STC) in the USA for the R550X. In the mean time, the R550X is available for use from 2024 as an experimental-category aircraft. The helicopter will be delivered with all documentation required to receive a Special Airworthiness Certificate from the FAA in the USA, or equivalent certification in other countries.

For questions about regulatory COAs, waivers, or 44807 exemptions, please contact us at sales@rotor.ai.

Yes, the R550X has a flight termination system capable of ending a flight immediately in case of an emergency. It is comprised of dedicated hardware operated over its own independent communications channel.

The R550X's communications gateway can simultaneously maintain 6 communications links of various types, making complete loss of link highly unlikely.

In case of loss of link, the aircraft can perform one of several predetermined maneuvers, according to operator preference. It can loiter and attempt to regain link, or it can return to base along predetermined routes and land safely.

The R550X uses a diversity of direct radio, LTE/cellular, and satellite links to connect to Cloudpilot. Field-deployed direct radio relays generally have ranges of between 10 and 50 miles, depending on the terrain and regulatory allowances. Where required, backhaul between field-deployed relays and Cloudpilot is completed using available communications infrastructure.

For detailed information on communications options and their geographic availability, please contact sales@rotor.ai.