HANGAR TALK
LCI and SMFL Achieve Highest Rating for World’s First Helicopter Social Loan Framework
LCI and Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing Co. Ltd. (SMFL) recently announced the development of the world’s first Social Loan Framework for helicopter leasing, finance and operations.
LCI and SMFL’s Social Loan Framework has received the highest rating of “Social 1(F)” from the Japan Credit Rating Agency.
The framework has been established initially for LCI’s joint venture leasing operation with SMFL, and in accordance with the internationally agreed Social Loan Principles developed in 2023 by the Loan Syndications and Trading Association (LSTA) (1). It will require funds to be used for eligible and verified social projects, which in LCI’s case will include search and rescue and emergency medical services.
Alan O’Rourke, CFO of LCI, says, “This innovative Social Loan framework builds upon our proven track record of financial innovation, and will make a meaningful difference to our customers and the communities they serve.
“It will require our social loans to adhere to a number of core principles including fund usage, calibration, characterization, reporting and verification, all of which will support our drive to attract new and efficient forms of capital to the helicopter sector, which have a positive social impact.”
The sustainable finance market grew to reach $1.6 trillion globally in 2021, of which approximately $600 billion was driven by the sustainability-linked loan (SLL) market, according to Refinitiv data(2).
The framework is an integral part of LCI’s Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) program, and reflects SMFL’s long-term commitment to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals as part of the company policy: “The SMFL Way.”
LCI is also a signatory of Aircraft Leasing Ireland’s (ALI) Sustainability Charter, with a commitment to driving forward and achieving ESG-related goals, centered around 10 priority sustainability principles, including a commitment to achieving net-zero by 2050.
Skyryse Introduces World’s First Fully Automated Autorotation Feature Ahead Of Skyryse-Equipped Production Helicopter Reveal
In a major breakthrough, aviation software and safety
technology startup Skyryse has completed the world’s first-ever fully automated autorotation emergency landing procedure, one of dozens of first-of-its-kind safety features that will come standard on all Skyryse technology equipped airplanes and helicopters. Skyryse will unveil the first production helicopter featuring its technology — including the world’s first simplified control system — in Q1 of next year.
“Every year, more than 400 people lose their lives in general aviation accidents just in the United States alone,” said Mark Groden, founder and CEO of Skyryse. “Fully automated autorotation is just one example of how our technology will bring a commercial grade of safety and beyond to general aviation.”
Skyryse’s proprietary technology is a highly automated flight control system capable of being installed on any aircraft. It is the first and only system that works with the pilot through a reimagined human machine interface (HMI) to manage complex emergency procedures — including one of the most dangerous and harrowing scenarios in all of general aviation, the failure of a helicopter engine.
In this situation, helicopter pilots have less than two seconds to perform a fully manual series of multiple control movements in a maneuver called an autorotation. Because of the complexity of current control systems, no helicopter has ever been able to automate this maneuver until now. Using proprietary redundant flight controls and a suite of sensors, the Skyryse system quickly recognizes a power failure and sets in motion multiple procedures, and with a push of a button, makes the landing uneventful. From entry to steady descent, it lowers the pitch, aligns the nose, manages aircraft stability, completes the flare, and lands gracefully at the desired landing location.
Skyryse has completed dozens of automated autorotations, with the first fully automated autorotation from altitude fully to the ground achieved in a Robinson R66 outfitted with Skyryse technology at its Los Angeles-area Flight Test and Performance Facility on July 22, 2023, with Guinness World Records certifying the record for first automated autorotation landing by rotorcraft.
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