How automated hover hold and synthetic vision eliminate pilot vertigo during dark nighttime sea rescues.
Hovering 50 feet over pitching ocean waves on a moonless night provides zero visual horizon cues. Human helicopter pilots experience profound spatial disorientation and vertigo, leading to fatal crashes into the water.
EvtolRescue utilizes millimeter-wave radar altimeters and optical flow wave-tracking sensors: the fly-by-wire system maintains a mathematically locked hover relative to the sea surface automatically, freeing the flight crew to focus entirely on hoist operations.
Airframe enclosures and electrical connectors are built from 316L stainless steel and titanium, passing rigorous 5% saltwater fog immersion tests to prevent electrical shorts in oceanic environments.