Hill Helicopters has pushed the target for first flight of its five-seat next-gen HX50 light helicopter to December 2025, after manufacturing challenges required it to fast-track construction of a production center for the aircraft.
The first flight of the clean-sheet designed aircraft had previously been set for 2024, but Jason Hill, the company’s founder and CEO, said the expanded scope of the project — in bringing an increasing amount of component construction in-house to control cost, quality and timescales — had impacted the type’s development timeline.
“Delivering all of that additional vertical integration has required vast amounts more space, and so we’ve essentially had to bring forward the development of PC1 [production center one] — an activity that wasn’t planned until after first flight — in order to be able to complete the development and produce all of these components,” he told viewers during a “Monthly Update” online presentation.
He called the rapid creation of the 76,000-square-foot PC1 “nothing short of spectacular,” with many engineering elements and offices already installed, and “the balance of” construction and commissioning set to be complete by the end of this year.
In terms of the aircraft’s development, Hill said the avionics and electrical systems “are in a really good position.”
“I think the main thing, really, is the final push to get the [500 shaft horsepower GT50] engine over the line, which I’m really comfortable about,” he added. “It’s just working through the amount of things that we’ve got left to do to be confident it’s going to do what we wanted to do with the minimum amount of modifications.”
The company hopes to have tested the starter generator system the full avionics system tested by the end of 2024, with the GT50 drivetrain test, cabin crew seat crash test, and electrical system test to follow in Q1 2025.
The gas generator module and power turbine module tests are planned for Q2 2025, along with the first full GT50 run on the aircraft program and flight control testing.
The first full engine test and certification endurance test, as well as airframe, fuel system and rotor system testing is slated for Q3 2025, with aircraft drain train testing, ground runs and first flight to follow in Q4.
“We’re confident that we can hit the deadlines for the next 12- to 14-month period that I’ve outlined,” said Hill. “There is a small amount of contingency in there that’s consistent with what we’ve assumed throughout.
He even gave specific dates for the first run of the GT50 (June 28, 2025) and first flight (Dec. 20, 2025). Production of the HX50 is set to start on Dec. 7, 2026.
“For most people, the single biggest barrier to entry into service for HX50 has always been its dependence on the GT50 engine,” said Hill. “Those barriers will be profoundly eliminated when GT50 passes its certification endurance test for the first time.”
To celebrate that event, the company is planning its fourth Hill Global Meetup on Sept. 11, 2025, in which the GT50 will be run in public for the first time, and all primary systems for the HX50 will be shown on the test bench.
The HX50 — targeted solely at private pilots — requires its owners to be involved in the build process. Hill said the “Build School” experience is still in development, but the basic principle is that an owner will spend two calendar weeks in the U.K. to be involved in the build of every area of the aircraft.
“There’s a very specific checklist of things that you do need to be involved in and things that you don’t need to be involved in,” he said. “We provide all of the necessary training and support [owners] need to execute very controlled tasks under very close supervision to the standards required to make a safe and reliable aircraft.”
In terms of performance, the HX50 has a 1,760-pound (800-kilogram) payload, with a 140-knot (161-miles-per-hour) cruise speed and a maximum range of 700 nautical miles (1,296 kilometers).
“We’re essentially ahead of all of our [performance] targets based on our latest predictions,” said Hill. “If you fill the fuel tank up, it’ll do five hours at 140 knots, and it will do that all the way up to 10,000 feet.”
Hill Helicopters has now taken deposits for 945 HX50s, and 376 of the HC50 — the commercial variant of the type. Production of the HC50 is set to begin about two years after the start of the HX50.
“There’s no major infrastructure requirements on us [required] to put to C50 into production,” said Hill. “That’s purely down to how quickly we can expedite the full certification program and then push that around the world. We’ve got an extremely supportive domestic regulator.”
The company is targeting an ambitious production schedule that will see 450 aircraft completed in the first year, 675 in the second year, and 1,000 in year three.
“Production capacity will be adjusted according to demand,” said Hill.
