British helicopter developer Hill Helicopters has gone public today with three key dates in their development program.

There has been a delay of a number of months in 2024 due to the realisation that Hill needed to move to their 76,000 sq ft Production Centre , which has meant moving of key equipment – see image at the bottom of CEO Dr Jason Hill at this location.

On the public presentation today, Dr Hill has given the following timeline

• 2024 Q4 starter generator test
• 2025 Q1 drive train test, electric test
• 2025 Q2 gas generator, power module, undercarriage testing and wheels, First Engine Run 28-Jun-25
• 2025 Q3 first full engine test, cert endurance test – and that will be followed by a customer event on 11-sep-25
• 2025 Q4 drive train, ground runs, First Flight 20-Dec-25.  Ground runs will be done at the Production Centre, but no decision has yet been made on the location of the first flight – Hill stated there are a number of suitable airfields close to the Production Centre which could be used.
• 2026 Q4 target “Permit to Fly” for HX50 to be issued by UK CAA approx 12 months after first flight
• 2028 Q4 target another 24 months for UK CAA type certification for HC50 model, to be followed by other certification jurisdictions around the world

Hill Helicopters is working very closely with the UK Civil Aviation Authority on gaining the various required approvals, in particular their Design Organisation Approval etc

Production capacity will be scaled according to demand. The company plan to build 450 helicopters in Year 1, 675 in Year 2 and 1000 in Year 3.

Hill Helicopters now offers tours of the Production Centre on Wednesdays

Orders currently stand at close to 1200, with HX50 currently numbering 945.  Hill stated that the number of aircraft for the US market is close to 400