WMF - I am not vexed by this project so much as baffled - is it just a huge vanity project for Dr Hill to flex his engineering and entrepreneurial muscles or is it really an innovative solution to a problem that doesn't really exist?
Rich people can already buy helicopters and in the same way as the latest Ferrari or Lamborghini or limited edition supercar is coveted, the newest and shiniest editions are aspired to by those with the cash to do so.
All Dr Hill has done, so far, is to show potential buyers the super-special, shiniest new toy to impress their chums with - just like the car manufacturers do with their top end products.
The difference is that those manufacturers have a track record (no pun intended) of producing similar, top end, super shiny cars.
When they create a new model, it is hyped and promoted in much the same way as the HX-50 - it's called advertising and creating desire - it's been working for years but their new models are rarely innovative - just shinier.
Hill is building a new engine from scratch - will it be just like pretty much every other turbine? Yes of course.
Will his new helicopter actually have any ground- breaking new designs in terms of rotors, control systems, avionics or other systems? No.
It really isn't innovation, he's just building from the ground up - just like every other aircraft manufacturer - but he is persuading people it is something special because his first model will be experimental/home built.
Thank you, by the way, for your kind comments, but I was just another military helicopter pilot and instructor who got to be half decent at their job