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Personal Helicopters Will Never Be the Same Once the Hill HX50 Gets Here

The aviation industry is a very solid one, in more than one respect. For the purposes of this piece, we’ll refer to the one that has to do with it being dominated by old, established companies. An aspect that makes the entrance of new players into the game very difficult, much more so than say in the automotive industry.
Hill HX50 helicopter 19 photos
Photo: Hill
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Yet some are trying, and of this bunch, a select few seem better positioned to succeed than others. On this rather short list still, one finds Hill Helicopters, a UK-based company meant to disrupt the “general aviation market with a revolutionary aircraft design.”

The company’s product is called HX50, and it is, of course, a helicopter. Not one exactly as we’ve come to know them, but a luxury aerial machine that should become the pinnacle of the industry if it ever manages to actually get here.

Hill showed the world the first glimpse at the HX50 back in 2020, and at the time of writing claims to have over 550 orders for the helicopter, coming from over 50 countries. And at a base price of 495,000 British pounds ($567,000 at today’s rates) each, that’s quite something.

The HX50 is at first glance just a helicopter. It comes with room for five people, pilots included, and a three-bladed main propeller up top that help it take off and land vertically, but also fly forward. But that’s pretty much where some of the similarities with regular helicopters are supposed to end.

Hill HX50 helicopter
Photo: Hill
The propeller’s blades we mentioned are retractable. They all fold backward when the helicopter needs to be stored in tight areas, and that makes it fit in a space smaller than one needed by a two-blade helicopter.

When on the ground, it rests on one of two systems, either a wheeled landing gear or skids that also help it reach rougher areas. Whereas the skids are fixed and always there, the gear retracts using a hydraulic system. This is isolated from the flight controls hydraulics, which means it works even if power in the others is lost.

Four doors, which open like those in an automobile (car references are aplenty in this one, as you’ll see below), allow access to the interior, and more magic and luxury await there.

Being “designed for owners,” it’ll probably be configurable in a variety of ways once it gets flying, but for now what we’re offered is an interior in “two-tone Nappa leather, French stitching, Alcantara trim and first-class brushed metal.”

Hill HX50 helicopter
Photo: Hill
Each of the five seats comes with its own storage compartment, USB ports and four-point harnesses. Integrated holders and jacks for Bose ANR headsets are there to replace the inaesthetic ceiling jacks and storage, and all those inside benefit from climate control and Bluetooth connectivity. Luggage can be stored behind the cabin, in a special compartment capable of holding 0.7 cubic-meter (almost 25 cubic feet) of cargo.

The two seats up front, reserved for pilots, benefit from something called Hill Digital Cockpit (HDC). It comprises electronic flight displays and controls that have been completely redesigned compared to existing helicopters to provide about the same feeling one gets while inside a modern car.

Two large screens can be seen on the left and right, and a large iPad in between them. They should provide info more clearly, while the controller and numerical keypad make for a more intuitive way of flying the helicopter.

Power for the HX50 comes from an in-house made turboshaft powerplant called GT50. It’s a two-spool running a single-stage centrifugal compressor and a two-stage axial turbine. The thing can deliver 500 shaft horsepower (400 hp continuous), while needing 35 gallons of fuel per hour to operate.

Hill HX50 helicopter
Photo: Hill
It gives the helicopter a top speed of 140 knots (161 mph/260 kph) and can keep powering it for a total of 700 nautical miles (805 miles/1,296 km).

Back in 2021, Hill was anticipating the first three prototypes would become available this year. To our knowledge, that hasn’t happened, and we even got news of the company delaying the first flights until 2024, from the initial 2023 target.

Given how the HX50 seems to be worth every penny, we're cheering for this one, hoping it will not become just another footnote in the encyclopedia of failed startups.

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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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