Skyworks Aeronautics

Skyworks Aeronautics Corp., formerly Groen Brothers Aviation, Inc., Groen Aeronautics Corporation and Skyworks Global, is an American autogyro research and development company based in Chicago . The company was founded in 1986 by David Groen and his late brother Jay Groen in Salt Lake City, Utah. David Groen remains as Senior Advisor.^[3][4][5]

In 2001, Time (magazine) magazine listed GBA's Hawk Gyroplane as one of their featured "Inventions of the Year."^[6]

The original name of Skyworks Aeronautics Corp. was Groen Brothers Aviation. It started out by incorporating helicopter design components into autogyro design. They added helicopter-style collective pitch control which allowed their aircraft to achieve vertical takeoff and landing and to stabilize flight at high and low speeds.^[7]

The company holds three U.S. patents^[8] and several international patents associated with their variable pitch rotor system. Following the first flight of their proof-of-concept aircraft in 1987, the company flew several larger prototype autogyros during the 1990s.^[9]

In September 1999 the company flew their first piston-engine powered prototype of the four-seat Hawk 4. The turbine-engined prototype first flew in July 2000, with a Rolls-Royce 250 420 hp (313 kW) turboprop engine and was the world’s first turbine powered gyroplane. The design's rotor blades used a company-developed natural laminar-flow airfoil.^{[7][10][unreliable source?]}

In 2002, the company provided the Utah Olympic Public Safety Command (UOPSC) a Hawk 4 prototype for perimeter patrol around the Salt Lake City International Airport during the 2002 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. The Hawk 4 completed 67 missions over 75 hours of flying time during the 90-day contract.^[11]

In February, 2003, the company introduced its “Stabilization Augmentation Kit,”^[12] designed to improve in-flight stability and safety for kit gyroplanes on the market. The company entered the kit market with the Sparrowhawk. The company discontinued Sparrowhawk kit production, but formed American Autogyro, as a subsidiary to produce and sell Sparrowhawk kits as a separate business.

In November, 2005, the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) selected a company-led team to design a proof-of-concept high-speed, long-range, VTOL GBA-DARPA Heliplane designed for combat search and rescue.^[13] The project was named the “Heliplane” by DARPA and intended to meet economy and performance goals not achievable by existing aircraft. The company completed work for Phase I of the project in 2009, but the project has not been further funded.

In December 2012, Steve G. Stevanovich led an acquisition of Groen Brothers Aviation by forming a new private company, Groen Aeronautics Corporation, which was registered in Delaware and acquired all the assets of the public Company Groen Brothers Aviation, Inc. This acquisition was accomplished in a transaction equal to more than $210 million. Groen Brothers Aviation Inc. retains a minority share holding in the Groen Aeronautics Corporation.^[14] Groen Aeronautics Corporation has since been re-branded as Skyworks Aeronautics Corp.^[15]

• Hawk Point Five – single seat gyroplane with collective pitch-controlled rotor, open-frame gyroplane. First aircraft built by GBA. (1987)^[16]
• Hawk 1 – single seat gyroplane with collective pitch-controlled rotor, retractable landing gear, fully enclosed stressed skin monocoque design.^[16]
• H2X – side-by-side two seat version of the Hawk 1 gyroplane.^{[citation needed]}
• Hawk 4 – four seat gyroplane with piston engine, designed to meet FAA type certification. (1999) Eventually incorporated a Rolls-Royce gas turbine engine, named the Hawk 4T. (2000)^[16]
• RevCon 6-X – test conversion of a Cessna 337 Skymaster airplane. This aircraft conversion tested the theory of using fixed-wing airplanes as the basic airframes for gyroplanes to reduce cost and shorten development time.^{[citation needed]}
• SparrowHawk – two seat gyroplane with aluminum frame, centerline thrust aircraft, wide-molded fiberglass cabin with adjustable seating. (2003)^[16]

• GBA GyroLiner – commuter airliner.^{[citation needed]}
• GBA GyroLifter – heavy-lift gyroplanes and gyrodynes of various sizes up to 160,000 lbs. GVW.^{[citation needed]}
• GBA ArrowHawk – seven seat turboprop gyroplane.^{[citation needed]}
• GBA-DARPA Heliplane – gyrodyne capable of 400 mph, 1,000 nautical mile range, HOGE at 4,000 feet and 95 °F.
• Groen ShadowHawk – tandem two seat gyroplane for aerial observation.^[17]

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