HIllerBee,
Well, as the new General Manager of Hiller Aircraft Corporation and an owner and operator of 6 Hiller UH12E's, piston and turbine, I think I might be able to shed some light on the subject of Hillers. I am sure you are quite experienced, being an instructor and having time in the ships. I really can't comment on your experience as I am unable with the information provided to determine just how those ships you were flying were maintained.
However, I will say, that over the past 20 years, the customer support from the previous owners and managers of Hiller Aircraft was non-existent. Truly a shame and a travesty for the product. While the UH12a/b/c models were excellent aircraft, each with its own strengths, they were the foundation of the program and provided the path to many positive improvements leading to the workhorse of the fleet, the UH12E, E-L and L models. Pound for pound, dollar for dollar, performance for performance: nothing can out work a Hiller. I am fond of saying that if I thought I could get away with it, I would "Paint it Green and slap a Yellow Deer on its side". But that just about sums it up.
I have many hours, and days, flying the Hiller operationally, on actual flight missions, ranging from search and rescue to Ag applications. I can tell you, from my seat, if one takes care to preform the proper maintenance, per the manual, then the Hiller provides a superior up-time mission availability of any Helicopter in its category, class and market. It has never let me down. There are many signs, long before failure, of pending issues that need resolution. If you keep a sharp eye out during pre-flight and post-flight inspections and address the issues as they appear, this Helicopter will never let you down either. Of course, this also requires the support of the factory which we are addressing now. Simply go to our new website
www.hilleraircraft.com and you will see the improvements to date. More to come.
I am happy you enjoy the R22 for training, even here are Hiller, while we are focused on training pilots to be Hiller pilots, we recognize that the truly rounded pilot will need some Robby time. However, if I am not wrong, you are speaking to people not running a flight school but general users. So, one last important point I would like to make before I conclude. Something to consider when making your choice, the Robinson aircraft are only good for 2200 hours or 12 years, whichever comes first. Unless you intend to fly your aircraft almost 200 hours a year, which few general aviation operators do, you will run into to the 12 year issue. Just think, you can purchase an R22, R44, R66, fly it 100 hours and then put it away, In 12 years, its done, full overhaul at the tune of 150 to 250K or more for the turbine. Wow, that is really saving money and economically prudent. Not sure I would want to be facing that prospect as a business case. The Hiller, all Hillers, never run out of time, you simply replace those components as they run out of time and keep going. Also, the legacy models like the A/B and C all have provisions to get some of the required parts from your closest auto parts store. Not available on a Robinson or any production Helicopter that I know of, except the Hiller.
So, our experiences are quite different, should you or anyone like to discuss Hillers. The website hilleraircraft.com is up and running to support all of our valued customers, and those that are interested in Hillers and the Factory is once again open for business and will be back in production soon. If you need parts, service or just support, give us a call. The new team is ready to help.
Respectfully,
Captain Michael Tragarz
General Manager
Hiller Aircraft Corporation