Originally Posted by
aa777888
I'd be willing to bet a beer or two that Gelb, seeking another adventure, approached Hill and said something like "Hey, I very successfully flew an R66 around the world. How about I do the same as a publicity stunt for the HX50 when it's ready?" and Hill bought into it.
From a previous story:
"Gelb is a co-owner of Canadian firm BC Helicopters, based in Abbotsford, British Columbia. Alongside serial venture capital entrepreneur Ruben Dias, whose FastTrack Ventures business is located in nearby Whistler, Gelb has created a separate company to handle the sales and marketing effort for Hill Helicopters."
Dias was Gelb's co-conspirator in the round-the-world flight; as far as I remember he was looking to invest in Hill, but it proved unnecessary for whatever reason. That sales and marketing company gets a commission on every sale of an HX50 they make.
And on the engine development - first engine to run on a test bench next year. Three engines to be ground tested ahead of the first flight in 2022.