Reflections, Achievements, Projections 2025

To meet the performance and price demands we set ourselves, we decided to develop the first new light helicopter gas turbine engine since the 1980s.  At the same time our engineers designed an advanced digital cockpit to bring an all new ecosystem to VFR helicopter flying. We put stability augmentation and advanced autopilot features as standard into every aircraft.  And created the Hill App, our active safety management system, which manages the status and health of the aircraft, and also the performance of the pilot.

The other major decision we took from the start was to manufacture all the components we design, and thus be a vertically integrated manufacturer, and not simply a technology company. Those of you who have been following the development programme from the early days and have kept up with our frequent progress-report videos, will know exactly what that entails!

Obviously none of this could have been achieved without building an incredible team, attracting top specialists and engineers from the UK and around the world.

“If you were to take all the people in the world that really know about designing helicopters and developing gas turbine engines, you would be able to fit them all in a single cinema theatre.” - Jason

It speaks for the success of our development programme and our business model that so many experts were willing to move to Hill to join us on our mission to turn out the HX50, and eventually the HC50.

With so much success, so quickly,  inevitably there have been challenges

“Far earlier than intended, we’ve had to move to Production Centre One, a 76,000 square foot, fully functioning production facility capable of delivering every component within the aircraft and engine under one roof.” - Jason

As the development programme has progressed, our vertical integration policy has required more and more space to turn out components, for example, gears and bearings and precision super-alloy fabrications, castings, in-house patterns and composite moulds. The scope of the project has increased in areas and in ways we had not anticipated when, not so long ago, we were operating out of a modest design office. This rapidly grew to a first development centre, and soon expanded to DC2 and DC3, and originally we thought that we could operate out of those premises until after  first flight.

In combining all three development centres into Production Centre One, we had to take our production capability offline to build the massive infrastructure that’s necessary to do everything  under one roof before we can re-commission it and get going again with producing components, test rigs, test equipment and ultimately aircraft and engines.

For example, we took our precision machine shop offline in April to prepare for the move of all the temperature management equipment and machines, and it has taken until October to set it up in PC1.

“While we’ve had to do it a little earlier than planned, what we’ve achieved at PC1 is nothing short of spectacular.” - Jason

This is what we have installed so far:

·      all engineering services necessary for production throughout the building

·      development suite

·      conference and meeting rooms

·      all specialist machinery foundations

·      all existing production equipment

·      range of specialist lifting equipment

·      dust-tight pattern trim facility

·      state of the art pattern machining facility

·      state of the art metrology lab in the machine shop

·      precision laser welding facility

·      large scale composite curing facility

·      full aircraft paint facility

·      digital control production facility

·      structure for avionics assembly and test cell

·      structure for electrical assembly and test cell

·      wiring loom assembly and test facility

·      secure part storage area

This is what is currently underway:

·      construction of our glazing production facility

·      structure for mechanical assembly shop built and awaiting internal furnishings

·      structure for trim shop built and awaiting internal furnishings

This is what’s next:

·      composites clean room for building airworthy composites

·      completion of shop floor to hold the larger assembly tasks and range of test equipment and rigs 

The starter generator is here and built, with the test rig on its way.  At that point, we can conduct the starter generator testing, motor generator control unit testing, and all of the associated control algorithm testing. We’ve also completed the design of the speed reduction gearbox test rig and it is currently being built.  

The first of the intentionally air-worthy speed reduction gearboxes for the engines are also being built at the moment, and we expect to be able to start testing those very early in the new year. That’s the first two modules of this four module engine.

We can look forward to an amazing 12 months ahead of us

With the balance of PC1 construction and commissioning complete by the end of this year and the full facility being fully operational, we have delineated the following framework:

• By the end of Q4 2024 we will have carried out the starter generator system along with all the associated power electronics. We’ll have also tested the full avionics system, along with the finalised HX50 digital cockpit user interface.
• Q1 2025 - drivetrain test for the GT50 engine, cabin crew seat crash test and electrical system test.
• Q2 2025 - gas generator module test, power turbine module test, and the first full GT50 run. On the aircraft programme, we’ll carry out the undercarriage testing on both skids and wheels, and also the flight control testing.
• Q3 2025 - first full engine test, along with the certification endurance test. On the aircraft programme, we’ll carry out the airframe testing, the fuel system testing, and the rotor system testing.
• Q4 2025 - aircraft drivetrain testing, ground runs and then first flight.

Key programme dates are as follows:

• GT50 will run for the first time on 28th June 2025
• The 4th Hill Global Meetup & Discover event for Hill clients will be held at PC1 on 11th September 2025 to celebrate the GT50 engine passing its certification endurance test for the first time. At that event you’ll be able to see GT50 running in public for the first time. All the primary systems for HX50 will be there for you to observe close up. We look forward to celebrating together as we begin the final push to first flight!
• The first flight of HX50 is scheduled for 20th  December 2025
•  HX50 production will start on 7th of December 2026 

We’ve crafted the helicopter that we all want, and to do so we’ve had to solve a multitude of complicated technical and commercial problems. This process has taken a little longer than we wanted it to, but it’s an extremely complicated process that has to be done perfectly.

Our customers’ feedback and interaction with the project has been, and continues to be, invaluable – if you are not yet part of the Hill community, now is the time to get involved.

 “The little dream of building a better helicopter has turned into a massive reality.” - Jason