Hill Helicopters is postponing the first flight of the HX50 to 2025

Hill Helicopters has pushed back the target for the first flight of its next-generation HX50 five-seat light helicopter to December 2025 after manufacturing issues forced it to accelerate the construction of a production center for the aircraft.

The all-new aircraft’s first flight was previously scheduled for 2024, but Jason Hill, the company’s founder and CEO, said the expanded scope of the project – by bringing more component designs in-house to control costs, quality and timelines – had Impact on the type’s development schedule.

“Providing all this additional vertical integration required a lot more space, and so we essentially had to move forward with the development of PC1 [production center one] – an activity that was only planned after the first flight – to be able to complete the development and produce all of these components,” he told viewers during an online “Monthly Update” presentation.

He described the rapid construction of the 76,000 square meter PC1 as “nothing short of spectacular” as many technical elements and offices have already been installed and “the rest” of construction and commissioning should be completed by the end of this year.

As for the aircraft’s development, Hill said the avionics and electrical systems “are in a really good position.”

“I think the most important thing is really to give the final push to get this [500 shaft horsepower GT50] Engine over the finish line, which I really like,” he added. “It’s just a matter of working through the amount of things we still need to do to make sure it does what we wanted with the minimum number of modifications.”

The company hopes to have tested the starter generator system and the entire avionics system by the end of 2024. The GT50 powertrain test, cabin crew seat crash test and electrical system test are scheduled to follow in the first quarter of 2025.

Testing of the gas generator module and power turbine module is scheduled for the second quarter of 2025, along with the aircraft program’s first full GT50 run and flight control testing.

The first full engine and certification endurance test, as well as airframe, fuel system and rotor system testing, are scheduled for the third quarter of 2025. Tests of the aircraft drainage cables, ground runs and the first flight will follow in the fourth quarter.

“We are confident that we can meet the timelines I have outlined for the next 12 to 14 month period,” Hill said. “There is a small level of contingency there that is consistent with what we have assumed throughout.

He even gave specific dates for the first run of the GT50 (June 28, 2025) and the first flight (December 20, 2025). Production of the HX50 is scheduled to begin on December 7, 2026.

“For most people, reliance on the GT50 engine has always been the biggest hurdle to getting the HX50 into service,” Hill said. “These obstacles will be fundamentally eliminated when the GT50 passes its certification endurance test for the first time.”

To celebrate this event, the company is planning its fourth Hill Global Meetup on September 11, 2025, where the GT50 will be driven publicly for the first time and all primary systems for the HX50 will be shown on the dyno.

The HX50, which is aimed exclusively at private pilots, requires its owners to be involved in the construction process. Hill said the Build School experience was still in development, but the basic principle was for an owner to spend two calendar weeks in the UK to be involved in building all areas of the aircraft.

“There is a very specific checklist of things you need to be involved in and things you don’t need to be involved in,” he said. “We provide all the necessary training and support [owners] must perform very controlled tasks under very close supervision according to the standards required to produce a safe and reliable aircraft.”

In terms of performance, the HX50 has a payload of 1,760 pounds (800 kilograms), a cruise speed of 140 knots (161 miles per hour) and a maximum range of 700 nautical miles (1,296 kilometers).

“We are essentially ahead of all of ours [performance] “Targets are based on our latest forecasts,” Hill said. “If you fill up the fuel tank, it can do five hours at 140 knots, even up to 10,000 feet.”

Hill Helicopters has now taken deposits for 945 HX50s and 376 HC50s – the commercial variant of the type. Production of the HC50 is expected to begin approximately two years after the launch of the HX50.

“For us there are no major infrastructure requirements [required] to get the C50 into production,” Hill said. “It depends entirely on how quickly we can move forward with the full certification program and then make it known worldwide. We have an extremely supportive domestic regulator.”

The company is targeting an ambitious production plan that calls for the completion of 450 aircraft in the first year, 675 in the second year and 1,000 in the third year.

“Production capacity will be adjusted to meet demand,” Hill said.