HILL HELICOPTERS PROPOSES NEW HELICOPTER DESIGN
Hill Helicopters of England is promoting an all-new helicopter design; the HX50. The five-seat, turbine-powered, 500-horsepower rotorcraft is touted to ‘deliver a whole new experience in safety, performance, adventure, comfort and elegance.’
Designed by a team led by aeronautical engineer Dr Jason Hill (Ph.D.), the HX50 utilises a composite structure and rotor system, along with an optimised engine, reimagined avionics and elevated interior design. “The helicopter industry has long awaited an Elon Musk-style disruption that redefines the modern helicopter. The wait is over,” says Hill, founder and CEO of Hill Helicopters.
The only way to create something that is truly ground breaking is to design from the ground up, giving equal focus to aerospace design, performance and safety as well as to the artistic and experiential aspects, including comfort, ergonomics, intuitive technology, and luxury. The HX50 brings all of this together
to deliver a truly unique aircraft and experience.
It appears Dynamic Engineering has some experience in this field: its website refers to the launch of a project covering ‘an advanced sub-500kW industrial gas turbine unit’. Based on the performance specifications revealed by Hill Helicopters, the HX50 will compete against Bell’s 505 Jet Ranger X short-light-single, which features a MTOW of 1,669kg and a 680kg useful load. Empty weight is given as 989kg, compared with 850kg for the HX50. The 505 is powered by a single Safran Helicopter Engines Arrius 2R engine which has a dry weight of 120kg.
The HX50 is currently in the advanced design phase, with three prototypes scheduled to begin flight testing in 2022. Optimistically, the first deliveries are anticipated to take place in 2023.
As a helicopter pilot, Dr Hill founded Hill Helicopters to design the ideal personal luxury helicopter that blends the latest safety and efficient performance technology with a truly luxurious and high-tech experience. He received his undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering from Aston University and a Ph.D. in aeronautics from Canfield University. After building considerable helicopter engineering experience at GKN Westland (now Leonardo) he founded Dynamic Engineering, delivering engineering analysis, design, product and technology development to clients across the engineering industry. With hand-picked engineers from Dynamic Engineering and beyond, Hill formed Hill Helicopters and the company remains fully owned by Hill, allowing his team complete creative control to meet ambitious designs and timelines.