Originally Posted by
hargreaves99
https://www.flightglobal.com/helicop...154622.article
"A fully certified version called the HC50 will arrive by the end of 2026."
"Timelines for the first flight of the HX50 were not disclosed during the event, but Hill Helicopters says it plans on “starting ground running of the first prototypes by Q2 of next year (2024), with flight tests happening shortly after that”."
Despite the relatively short period allocated for flight testing, Hill Helicopters insists this will not be an issue: “There will be sufficient time to do all the required flight testing on the three prototype aircraft,” it says."
Certainly, provided the equally untried engine is fully available whenever the test airframe needs it to be, and, of course, the Hill programme assumes that engine and airframe testing will not throw up any delaying issues. Good Luck with all of those.
N