Is there one flying yet?

Oh, so it will all be OK by Christmas.....................

Very interesting project....

In the cockpit they seem to be going for ALT on the left and speed on the right while most of the glass cockpit out there (including airplanes) have it the opposite way. I wonder why they went that route?
At lot of power on paper but from the picture my perception is a very small fenestron, hopefully powerful enough. We will see

Good luck to them it seems to be very impressive product on paper

lots of other people's money it would seem

Indeed, and an awful lot of it from significant, non-refundable deposits on, now, over 500 aircraft.

They have a strong, well funded team and a leader who knows how to make things happen.

They'll need that when they have to manage customers expectations downwards

They'll probably charge and arm and a leg for spares - those windscreens won't come cheap....

Are other manufacturers in this market sector known for the availability of reasonably priced spares?

No but they are not promising ground breaking performance at budget prices.

Unfortunate I did not see them at Heli-Expo in Dallas, last month. That would have been a great venue to showcase all the progress they are making. They could possibly have given some tips on rapid prototyping and production to both airframe and engine OEMs, or at least on how to make the best computer aided graphics in the business!

Fly Safe, Always :ok:

Whilst I can appreciate a healthy scepticism in the world of brand new aircraft development, you are writing as though you have some knowledge of the Hill operation, more than just an observer. You seem to know something that others don't. Can you illuminate us on what that is?

No, just a bigger dose of scepticism than others I guess - the promises of people who need your money to make their dreams come true always ring alarm bells with me.

The old adage of 'If it looks to good to be true, it usually is' - is easily applied to a company making a brand new helicopter and engine from the ground up that will beat all the existing offerings from companies who have huge R and D budgets and promises a revolution in light helicopter ownership.

Dry weight of 850Kg and 800Kg of payload, minimum cruise of 140Kts, MAUM OGE hover at 10,000' with a 500'/min vertical climb rate? If that doesn't all sound far too good to be true then I've got some ideas you might want to invest in......

Well, only a fool would spend his own money on such a venture. Dr Hill is no fool.

Have you heard of Theranos?

Now I have to clean the keyboard of coffee...............

My biggest concern / point of skepticism is that they are developing their own engine. I don't even see the point of doing that, but then I know nothing about engines. But that's a huge risk. It sounds like they don't even have a working engine yet, yet they have ambitious goals about creating a flying prototype soon? And there's no way they'll meet their price target, but if the experimental version costs no more than a Bell 505 and it actually works as well as they hope, then it should sell. Of course sales would be limited to the private market, at least in countries that prohibit commercial operations in experimentals.

Pack it in rice and it will be good as new. :E
If Newton were around today, his laws would define the most powerful force of all - FOMO.

Comparing vapourware to a product that actually exists and is fully certified for commercial ops, seems like a pointless exercise.
When (if?) it actually exists, has proven specs and a final price tag, comparisons can be drawn.
Until then, it is all just intellectual masturbation.:}

HX50 after managing downwards customer expectations
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....8426b7ea70.jpg

Yeah but if you placed a deposit for £100k for an HX50 and don't get a helicopter, that's not quite so good.

I think we all get that the HX50 proposition represents a remarkable deal. It's my view that it's way TOO remarkable. As soon as the first customer machine flies, I'll eat my words and tip my hat to the Hill team. Until then, it's just blah blah.