The market for helicopters is changing, with demands for everything from increased capability to reduced environmental impact. To meet these needs, helicopter manufacturers can either enhance current models or start from the beginning with an entirely new airframe. Regardless of the direction, helicopter OEMs rely heavily on powerplant OEMs to help make their visions a reality.
Increasingly, new and updated designs require engines that deliver more range with less fuel burn, increased payload capability without adding more weight to the aircraft, increased power, fuel flexibility to meet growing environmental requirements, reduced maintenance costs, and even the ability to hybridize, electrify, and convert to future fuel options. Above all, they must be reliable to the point where no operator will question the aircraft’s mission readiness and ability to operate without incident.
The standard formula
It’s perhaps no surprise that legacy engine OEMs are struggling to meeting these expanding needs. Strict regulatory requirements demand significant investment and time to bring an entirely new engine design to market. Then there is supply chain uncertainty around new components that can add years to the project and zeros to the cost. The far safer option is to modify a tried-and-true engine design.
Even then, changing an existing engine by adding full authority digital engine control (FADEC), increasing performance, or other modifications, can incur significant seven, eight, or nine-figure non-recurring engineering costs. It is standard practice for the engine OEM to charge the airframe manufacturer for these costs, which is hard to justify without the assurance of large quantities of aircraft sales to offset it.
Robinson Helicopter Company recently announced a new model, the R88 — a whole new design with increased payload, range, and other capabilities that require substantially more power than that provided by the Rolls-Royce RR300 engine in the smaller R66. Early on in the design process, Robinson cast a wide net among all engine manufacturers — and even makers of non-certified engines and military engine manufacturers — to identify its powerplant options.
Robinson president David Smith emphasized the enormous obstacles engine and airframe manufacturers must overcome when powering a new aircraft type, from limited engine manufacturers serving the light aircraft market and meeting FAR part 33 (which holds small turbofan engines for light helicopters to some of the same standards as large commercial jet engines), to the significant investment needed to design a new or modify an existing engine for a new aircraft design.
“In the end, we chose to go with an established engine modified for our aircraft,” Smith said of the Safran Helicopter Engines Arriel engine. “We saw a difference in how they really wanted to win our business and develop a relationship. There are also a few things they were doing in their development that were a part of the R88 plan — newer investments and newer technology — which were exciting to us.”
Smith added it was important for Robinson to also choose an engine from a manufacturer dedicated to continued research and development.
New vs. Improved
There are limited new engines on the market and none for small light aircraft. Safran’s Arrano engine is the latest new engine design in the commercial helicopter market. Announced in 2013 and certificated in 2021, the 1,300-shp engine features an 18% reduction in fuel consumption, reduced maintenance, and reduced emissions compared to similar engines. It was chosen by Airbus to power the H160.
Safran Helicopter Engines vice president of technology Eric Seinturier said reduced carbon emissions are one of the primary pressures for its clients. Many contracts require bidding helicopter companies to highlight reduced fuel consumption and emissions. With this in mind, Safran has worked to improve its Arriel engine with each new derivative, only considering a new engine when a capability leap can be made.
“For decades we have been continuously improving our best-selling Arriel through 20, 30, or 40 different versions to reduce fuel consumption,” he said. “We have been making improvements to the core engine efficiency, pushing the thermodynamic cycle for more pressure and more temperature, using new materials and architectures, all just to reduce fuel consumption a little more.
“To make a large decrease in fuel consumption and emissions reduction, you have to change your architecture and propose something new like we did with the Arrano. We are working on different market segments to propose brand new engines to achieve this. From an investment standpoint, the target is at least 10% to 15% reduction in order to add value to the market at a sufficient level of commercialization.”
GE Aviation has its new 3,000 shp T901 engine for the U.S. Army’s UH-60M Black Hawk fleet. The engine began in-flight testing in May 2025. It features 25% improved fuel efficiency and 50% more power over the aircraft’s current engine.
At Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC), several projects are under development, according to Jean Thomassin, P&WC’s executive director of new product and service introduction. One is research on new designs, as well as derivatives of its proven turboshaft engines.
“The PT6 engine sets the bar in helicopter engine reliability and that is a key requirement for manufacturers,” Thomassin explained. The challenge is matching that to increased demands for higher power, increased fuel efficiency, and lighter weight.
P&WC is participating in a Canadian government research project to test new manufacturing materials that would allow the engine to burn hotter at higher pressure to increase power and efficiency. This is a longer-term project with potential benefits that could be seen in new engines in a decade, he said.
Reimagining legacy engines
While most innovations in helicopter engines in recent years are more evolutionary than revolutionary, there are several out-of-the-box projects underway. Helicopter engine manufacturers are exploring more efficient manufacturing techniques, alternative fuels like sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), and external engine modifications that allow for hybridization.
Both GE Aviation and Rolls-Royce are pursuing new manufacturing methods to improve performance and efficiency. GE noted in a written statement to Vertical that it was using additive manufacturing to reduce weight and part count, 3D aerodynamics to improve compressor efficiency, ceramic matrix composites to lower weight and meet cooling flow demands, and digital-twin technology to enhance diagnostics. These technologies are already being applied on the T901 and will be utilized in future engine designs, the company said.
Rolls-Royce said it is pursuing additive layer manufacturing and hydroform to increase supply and producibility of select engine parts. The OEM did not specify which engines these technologies were used to produce.
In Europe, 5% SAF will be required in aviation fuel in 2027, increasing to 12% in 2032. With this and the fact that SAF reduces carbon emissions, Safran is actively involved in certifying all of its engines for 100% SAF. It is also pushing for SAF regulations and pushing petroleum companies to invest in SAF and develop safe high-volume production to decrease SAF costs.
“All of our engines are currently compatible with drop-in SAF, mixing a maximum of 50% SAF with fossil fuel,” Safran’s Seinturier explained. “What we are doing today is specifying SAF in such a way that 100% SAF will have the same characteristics as fossil fuel, so there is no major impact on the engine. Since 100% ‘drop-in’ SAF will stay expensive for years, we are also working on what is called ‘non drop-in,’ opening the field to more affordable SAF, but requiring engine modifications around the fuel system, injection system, and pumps.”
P&WC engines are all certified to operate on 50% SAF. “We’ve also run most of them up to 100% on the test bed, so whenever the infrastructure is in place, we are ready,” PW&C’s Thomassin said.
Hybridization is another innovative advancement gaining traction with engine manufacturers. Both Safran and P&WC are deeply involved in this work.
For twin-engine helicopters, Safran is developing its Eco-mode, a hybrid-electric system that reduces fuel consumption and emissions by shutting down one engine during cruise and running the other at peak efficiency. The mode also allows for the standby engine to restart quickly for landing or emergencies with the use of an electric motor. Safran will soon demonstrate the technology in flight in Airbus’s Racer high-speed helicopter demonstrator.
“We are convinced Eco-mode will be a must-have on twin helicopters by 2030 to 35,” Seinturier said, noting that the drag-reduction gains on some modern airframes make one engine cruise feasible without unacceptable performance penalties. “We are also considering hybridization for single-engine urban operations in Europe, as short-duration electric boosts with an electric motor could give single-engine helicopters wider safety margins over dense terrain with two to three minutes of additive electric power to aid in a safe landing.”
PW&C is deep in development on hybridization, partnering with sister company Collins Aerospace to support the development of a hybrid-electric propulsion system for Airbus’s PioneerLab technology demonstrator. Using a P&WC PW210 engine derivative linked with two Collins Aerospace 250 kW electrical motors and controllers, the configuration has the potential to improve fuel efficiency by 30% and reduce carbon emissions compared to a typical twin-engine helicopter, Thomassin said.
While hybridization has exciting potential, it is limited by battery weight. A more than 23-kilogram (50-pound) battery is needed to produce the power of one kilogram (2.2 pounds) of fuel, Safran’s Seinturier noted.
Disrupting the whole cycle
Deep in the quiet English countryside on the northwestern edge of Stafford, Hill Helicopters is disrupting the entire engine development formula. While in the early stages of developing its new ultra-modern, luxury five-seat turbine HX50 and HC50 helicopters, Hill Helicopters founder Jason Hill decided to design and manufacture the aircraft’s turbine engine, the GT50.
As he began developing his helicopter concept, Hill met with every light helicopter engine manufacturer, seeking an affordable, fuel efficient 500-horsepower engine that would keep his overall helicopter affordable.
“We sought something refined, powerful, and capable,” Hill explained. “There are some really good turbine engines in that power class, but they’re all appallingly expensive. The thing is, there is no good reason why they’re that expensive. It’s simply that there’s just no competition. If we allowed our end-product price point to escalate to that level, all we’d be doing is dividing up the Bell 505 and R66 market, which is already small.”
Understanding engine OEMs had no interest in lowering the price for Hill Helicopters, Hill realized he had no choice but to develop an engine himself that met his performance standards, while costing far less than available options.
“If we wanted to make the HX50 at a price point that was going to stimulate the general aviation market and open new opportunities for commercial operators, we needed a much more accessible cost,” he explained. “It wasn’t a decision we took lightly.”
With more than 1,500 of his helicopters pre-sold, Hill had the financing to take on the challenge and, in that endeavor, achieved what no other helicopter airframe or powerplant manufacturer has accomplished: full internal manufacturing of every component in its engine and helicopter.
Foregoing frustrating supply chain woes, Hill Helicopters fabricates combustion liners out of advanced super alloys, casts and machines its turbine blades, and makes its own bearings, gears, fuel nozzles, fuel controls, electrical control systems, and every other piece all under one roof. The company also invested in all tooling, manufacturing, and testing equipment. With just the pre-sales as an initial volume, Hill met his financial goal.
“I can make every single component that goes into that engine for far less than the cost of a Lycoming engine,” he said.
The GT50 engine is scheduled to perform its first full tests in April 2026, with the first test flight of the full HX50 planned for December 2026. If all goes according to plan, full production of the entire aircraft, including powerplant, begins around the end of 2027, Hill said.
While it could be priced significantly below legacy powerplant options upon certification, the GT50 will not be available outside the Hill Helicopters platform. Hill plans to design a twin-engine version of his helicopters followed by fixed-wing aircraft that follow Hill Helicopter’s reimagined approach to building, delivering, and supporting luxury aircraft. All are forecast to utilize the GT50 engine, Hill said.