Matt Thurber, editor-in-chief at AIN Media Group, has been flying since 1975 and writing about aviation since 1978 and now has the best job in the world, running editorial operations for Aviation International News, Business Jet Traveler, and FutureFlight.aero. In addition to working as an A&amp;P mechanic on everything from Piper Cubs to turboprops, Matt taught flying at his father’s flight school in Plymouth, Mass., in the early 1980s, flew for an aircraft owner/pilot, and for two summer seasons hunted swordfish near the George’s Banks off the East Coast from a Piper Super Cub. An ATP certificated fixed-wing pilot and CFII and commercial helicopter pilot, Matt is type-rated in the Citation 500 and Gulfstream V/550. Based in the Pacific Northwest, Matt and his team cover the entire aviation scene including business aircraft, helicopters, avionics, safety, manufacturing, charter, fractionals, technology, air transport, advanced air mobility, defense, and other subjects of interest to AIN, BJT, and FutureFlight readers.

Editor-in-Chief

Matt Thurber

With the exception of the still-developing urban air mobility segment, rotorcraft development remains a slow and steady activity. Few new aircraft are under development and some, such as the Bell 525 and Leonardo AW609, seem stuck in endless certification delays. There are bright spots, however, and we expect to hear some interesting news from rotorcraft OEMs at this month’s Verticon show (formerly Heli-Expo). Meanwhile, here is what is going on at the rotorcraft OEMs.
<h2>Airbus Helicopters</h2>
Airbus Helicopters is taking a break from development of the CityAirbus eVTOL aircraft. While it plans to continue flying the prototype electric aircraft this year, the company is also pausing the program due to a lack of progress in battery technology. Apart from that, Airbus Helicopters is committed to innovation and its roadmap focuses on short-term solutions for the in-service fleet of more than 12,000 helicopters; testing of new technology that will be ready for market demand and customers’ future needs; and longer-term “disruptive mobility solutions of the future.”
“We are convinced that innovation is always the best way to continue to bring value to our customers,” said CEO Bruno Even.
Work continues with three research rotorcraft—FlightLab, DisruptiveLab, and PioneerLab—for testing new technologies that could make their way onto existing helicopters plus evaluating “disruptive” technologies for future aircraft such as fixed-wing or eVTOL types. Last year, the high-speed compound rotorcraft Racer exceeded its 220-knot target speed by flying at 227 knots. Flights will resume this year.
In Marignane, France, the FlightLab H130 platform has tested a rotor strike alerting system, a HUMS for single-­engine helicopters, and fly-by-wire simplified flight controls. The Vertex demo tested new flight sensors, high-speed computing, and a new human-machine interface designed to “enhance safety, reduce pilot workload, and explore automation features” for VTOL aircraft.
DisruptiveLab flights in 2023 logged 42 hours toward maturing new technologies to improve performance and reduce emissions as much as 50% with a parallel hybrid propulsion system that recharges the battery in flight. Major modifications are planned this year in preparation for the next flight test campaign.
An H145 serves as the PioneerLab platform but it is also acting as a twin-engine FlightLab. The focus of testing in Donauwörth, Germany, is on systems and airframe improvements including autonomy. Testing will include a lidar-based rotor strike alerting system in hover operations; lidar-based wire detection; automatic takeoff and landing; sensors and image processing to enhance situational awareness; active trim actuators to enable tactile cues and optionally piloted vehicle operations.
Airbus Helicopters is working with Garmin to certify a three-axis autopilot for the H130, and that is expected to be approved and available this year. The Garmin autopilot features progressive resistance on the cyclic as the pilot approaches pre-­defined limits; visual and audible alerts for speed or altitude exceedances; and a level button to return to straight-and-level flight.
Meanwhile, larger helicopters in the Airbus family are seeing growing success, with the new five-blade H145 securing 300 orders during the past two years and delivery of the 2,000th in December 2024.
The H160 fleet exceeds 30, and last year, Airbus lowered the H160’s empty weight and fuel consumption to increase range by 60 nm and payload by 220 pounds.
Last year, the Super Puma made a significant comeback, and Airbus already has booked a contract for 12. “We are committed to this product,” said Even, “and I’m optimistic we’ll be able to confirm this positive trend in the years to come.”

<h2>Bell</h2>
Bell delivered 172 aircraft in 2024 and signed up fleet sales that include ten 525s to Equinor and fifteen 407GXis to Global Medical Response.
A major milestone for Bell remains certification of the fly-by-wire, super-medium 525. Former president and CEO Mitch Snyder in early 2023 said he expected the FAA to certify the 525 by the end of that year. Last year, new Bell president and CEO Lisa Atherton said that certification was going to take place by the end of 2024, but that has pushed into 2025. The Equinor order is expected to begin deliveries in 2026, according to Bell, and this would require EASA certification.
In addition to fly-by-wire flight controls, with which Bell has much experience on the V-22 tiltrotor, the 525’s main rotor gearbox has no high-speed drives and uses independent and redundant reduction and accessory drive gearboxes.
Power is provided by two GE CT7-2F1&nbsp;turboshaft engines, each delivering 1,979 shp for takeoff and 1,714 shp max continuous power.
With a maximum cruise speed of 160 knots, the 525 can carry up to 16 passengers and two pilots. Maximum range at full gross weight is 619 nm. Avionics are Garmin’s G5000H integrated suite with touchscreen controllers.
Bell is producing the 525 at its Amarillo, Texas assembly center.
Other Bell developments include new upgrades such as the BasiX-Pro glass cockpit for the 412 and 429 and EASA certification of Garmin’s GFC 600H helicopter flight control system in the 505.

<h2>Enstrom Helicopter</h2>
Since Surack Enterprises bought Enstrom Helicopter in May 2022, the Menominee, Michigan-based helicopter manufacturer has resumed manufacturing helicopters and developing upgrades. Before Chuck Surack—a longtime helicopter pilot who learned to fly in an Enstrom 280—rescued the company, it had filed for Chapter 7 liquidation bankruptcy after 64 years in business. Enstrom has made more than 1,300 helicopters, most of which are still flying, and the employee ranks have grown to 165 from 135 before the bankruptcy.
“Chuck is very committed to seeing this company get back on its feet,” said Charles Wade, senior v-p of product, sales, and customer experience. “He’s got a vision of what he wants; that’s what we’re working towards.”
Enstrom manufactures three helicopters, the turbocharged piston-engine F28F and 280FX and the turbine 480B. The 280FX is a more aerodynamically refined version of the F28F and also is equipped with touchscreen Garmin avionics.
A key upgrade program for Enstrom is the crash-resistant fuel system (CRFS) for the 480B, and work on this project is ramping up. Enstrom was working on the CRFS before the bankruptcy, so that put a bit of a slowdown into the process.&nbsp;
Another program is the Garmin G500H TXi touchscreen display with Howell Instruments engine display,&nbsp;expected to enter service in June. The avionics have been demonstrated in the 280FX but are intended for the 480B. In addition to the G500H TXi, the package will include the GTN 750 touchscreen GPS com/navigator or the GTN 650 as an option. “We’re evaluating our options on the 280FX,” Wade said. “We’re trying to make sure it’s price-sensitive.”
Last year, Enstrom announced a Genesys three-axis autopilot for the 480B, and this is available in two configurations. The original is the legacy 480B with an Aspen Avionics primary flight display and the newest version with the Genesys autopilot is being certified with the G500H TXi. This will make the 480B qualified for IFR training.

<h2>Hill Helicopters</h2>
Development of the HX50 single-engine light helicopter is proceeding, and Hill Helicopters founder and chief engineer Jason Hill last October revealed key targets for the program. The company has taken on the challenge of building its own turboshaft engine and plans for first run of the GT50 engine on June 28, first flight of the HX50 on December 20, and start of production on Dec. 7, 2026.
Based at a 76,000-sq-ft production center in Stafford, UK, Hill is developing two versions of the helicopter, the experimental amateur-built HX50 to be followed by a certified HC50. Both will feature modern avionics and a stability augmentation system as well as a fully articulated rotor system.
“The comprehensive testing of the GT50 engine is underway, and we are progressing through the necessary stages to meet Part 33 [certification] requirements,” the company told AIN.
Three prototype HX50s are under construction and will be used for flight testing. Hill said the timeline for certification of the HC50 is one year following the HX50’s start of production in December 2026. “These prototypes will complete all the testing required for certification. Our plan is to achieve type certification first, immediately followed by production certification, to ensure a smooth transition from development to manufacturing.”
Plans call for the HC50 to be certified by the UK CAA followed by the FAA, Transport Canada, and other regulators.
In addition to the HX50’s airframe,&nbsp;the rotor blades&nbsp;are all-composite. Flight controls will be mechanical and augmented by a hydraulic system. All airframe structures will be manufactured at the Stafford facility, where a composites testing lab has been built to test and validate materials and processes.
“Using the dual-role model with the HX50 being in the permit-to-fly/amateur-built category and the HC50 being fully certified ensures the quickest way to market,” the company explained. “This comprehensive expertise, combined with our commitment to leveraging the latest technologies, positions us to achieve certification within our projected timeline.”
<h2>&nbsp;</h2>

<h2>Leonardo</h2>
Two major programs are underway at Leonardo. The AW609 is working towards type inspection authorization (TIA), the next milestone in the tiltrotor program, following a number of achievements in the past 12 months. Meanwhile, the light-­single AW09, formerly the Kopter program, has completed some key tests on its path to the marketplace.
Leonardo has secured more preliminary sales contracts and added several more distributors for the AW09 along with firm customer orders. Recent achievements include the completion of engine icing tests, phase 2 bird strike testing, all main and tail rotor blade fatigue tests, and the first engine start of the Tie Down helicopter.
Engine icing tests were conducted with Safran, which makes the AW09’s Arriel 2K engine. For the phase 2 bird-strike tests, engineers tested a second bird-strike location on the helicopter’s canopy.
EASA flight testing for certification began in May 2024, and Leonardo expects the helicopter to receive approval under CS-27 regulations this year.
An AW09 can seat up to eight passengers and features a Garmin G3000H avionics suite. With a maximum speed of 140 knots, it will fly up to 430 nm or five hours. Maximum weight with internal load is 6,284 pounds and with an external load is 6,614 pounds. Sling capacity is 3,300 pounds.
In early February, AW609 tiltrotor aircraft 5 marked a significant step in the long-running program, the first flight in the U.S. in that aircraft by the FAA pilot who will conduct TIA flights. The FAA pilot had previously flown in aircraft 4 in Italy. During that week, Leonardo’s AW609 team delivered the risk management process and existing test risks to the FAA, and this paves the way for the FAA test pilot and test engineer to “participate in onboard flights,” according to Leonardo.
Aircraft 5 will be used for TIA flights and has flown 62 hours for key certification tests, including handling qualities, avionics systems performance, and cold weather operations down to -10 degrees C.
In Italy, Leonardo has been running tests of a digital twin version of the AW609. Activities and maneuvers were first flown with the digital twin on the AW609 development/engineering simulator in Cascina Costa and then later flown in the prototype aircraft.
These tests included the first ship trials on an Italian navy aircraft carrier in the second quarter of 2024, under a working group formed to study tiltrotor potential. Included in the group are the Italian navy, army, and Italy’s customs police, and the intent of the testing is to evaluate the potential of tiltrotors’ capabilities in complementary operation with existing assets, according to Leonardo. “The assessment performed by the working group would help to define the benefits for logistic transport (vertical takeoff/landing, long-range, fast point-to-point connection with above-the-weather cruise) and, later in the future, maritime surveillance (vertical takeoff/landing, fast transfer to patrolling area, and larger area coverage).
Leonardo’s virtual extended reality (VxR) helicopter flight simulation training device has achieved FAA Level 7 approval, “marking a historic milestone as the first-ever VR [virtual reality]-based training device to attain this level,” according to the Italian rotorcraft manufacturer. With a motion base and VR technology, the VxR can replicate single-engine and light twin-engine helicopters at a fraction of the cost of a full-flight simulator.
Capable of replicating the AW09, AW119, and AW109 helicopters, the VxR uses previously qualified level-D full-flight simulator flight dynamics and performance data and cockpit components. VxR simulators can be connected so flight crew can train together on the same mission.
<h2>&nbsp;</h2>

<h2>MD Helicopters</h2>
Mesa, Arizona-based MD Helicopters exited bankruptcy in late 2022, having delivered just five helicopters that year. New investors and leadership have since turned the company around, although sales haven’t accelerated as quickly as projected, with just nine helicopters delivered in 2023. Numbers for 2024 weren’t available at the time this was written.
However, the company has focused on supporting the more than 1,700 MD helicopters still operating. To that end, it has launched an AOG team, smoothed out the parts supply chain, and built up a strong field support team. In addition to establishing a goal of 95%-plus spares fill rate within 24 hours, MD has also been working on ensuring that more than 1,000 unique spare parts are available on the “never-out” list.
The latest program update for MD Helicopters is a ramp-up of its 530E to 530F conversion program. The first conversion was completed last October for the Cleveland Police Department. Upgrades add 350 pounds to internal load and 200 pounds external and a 5,500-foot increase in hover out of ground effect, thanks to a larger Rolls-Royce 250-C30 engine; longer main and tail rotor blades and tail rotor driveshaft; extended tail rotor gearbox; modified tailboom; and new vertical and horizontal stabilizers.
MD Helicopters sees strong demand for these upgrades and plans to release more performance improvements for the MD 500D, MD 500E, and MD 520N.
<h2>&nbsp;</h2>

<h2>Robinson Helicopter</h2>
Under the leadership of president and CEO David Smith, who took over the position in early 2024, Robinson Helicopter has purchased a drone manufacturing company—Ascent AeroSystems—and further moved into exploration of electric and hydrogen power for its traditional helicopters. The helicopter manufacturer is also providing support to Skyryse’s efforts to obtain supplemental type certificate approval for a fly-by-wire version of the R66 helicopter and Rotor Technologies’ conversion of the R44 into a remotely operated utility or agricultural spray helicopter.
Robinson has partnered with United Therapeutics on the development of a hydrogen-powered R44 and R66, and progress continues on that program. “My team and the team at United Therapeutics that’s doing the development work…everyone’s learning quickly,” he said. “There’s a lot of things to learn…particularly around cooling, that are very important parts of keeping fuel cells working nominally. The design is quite clean. [But] it still has another generation to go before [it’s ready]. So we’re actively working through that.
“We’re going to make this an initial proof of concept, to maximize its learning, and then take that and do the application in more detail with the authorities. We’re in good discussions with them so far, so there is lots of good progress on that.”
Skyryse’s work involves removing all the conventional controls from an R66 and replacing them with a full fly-by-wire control system that is managed with a single control and two screens in the cockpit. “We’re cheering them on,” Smith said. “We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us to make sure that we’re ready to support them in the next phase, where they’re taking on aircraft and modifying them in larger volumes. We’re ready to support them in that.”
Helicopter fly-by-wire is not an easy change, and the long delays in the certification program of the Bell 525 suggest that there is a big learning curve for all involved, especially the FAA. “Fly-by-wire is many great things,” he said, “but it's also challenging and particularly in helicopters where the time constants are so much faster. In fixed-wing, system response has time that the aircraft doesn’t immediately go into an unstable condition. In helicopters, it’s a different matter entirely. We’ve seen attempts in the past to go to fly-by-wire. Airbus jettisoned it on the H160; the Sikorsky S-92 had an attempt to do it and backed away. The Bell 525 has taken so long, at least partially due to the fly-by-wire content, so it’s a long road. But we’re very supportive of Skyryse and are trying to help them do it as safely as possible.”
Another fly-by-wire program that Robinson is supporting is the Rotor Technologies R44 remotely piloted helicopter. “We love their product and team,” he said. “They don’t need a lot of help, but they want to productionize, and that’s our end of the world.”
Another area of opportunity for Robinson is in pilot training and the growing application of virtual reality technology in flight simulation. “I see this as an enormous opportunity,” Smith said. “We have more than 100 dealers and 400 service centers, and many of them would host a device and train their customers. We’ve got to make it easy for them to do that.”
The Robinson team is working on a training product, details of which Smith wasn’t ready to reveal when interviewed in February.
For bringing effective simulator-based training to the helicopter market, the key is not expensive, regulator-approved programs with simulators that cost hundreds of thousands and millions of dollars. “The future is not regulated training; it is gamified, immersive training that changes how pilots make decisions,” Smith said.
Having run a large OEM-based fixed-wing simulation network, he added, “Not one of them felt like I was making pilots substantially better or pause about their own judgment. They always were trained for proficiency in maneuvers and systems knowledge. That’s important. You have to do that. But I think that if you look at the data, the things that kill the pilots in my [helicopters], my customers, it’s decision making, and it’s a mix of human factors, mission preparation, and flight into IMC happens because of improper weather planning or the limitations of decision making in the moment.
“I think our efforts with simulation are going to go right at the teeth of that, solve the problem of how do you simulate to make pilots think twice about their preparation. That will make an enormous difference on safety. It won’t solve everything, nothing will, but that will solve something that nobody else is solving right now.”
An avid gamer, Smith said, “I study all these game companies and how people sit in front of screens and play games for forever and ever, and there’s no intrinsic return on that, no credit, no hours get gathered.” But if passionate people are competitive and the games are engaging, then creating a leaderboard might motivate them to improve. “[If] you’re in the bottom quarter, who isn’t going to go back into the machine and try again?” he asked.
“When our simulation product that we’re working on hits the market, it will be something that will change safety and change the expectation of general aviation. That’s my goal, that general aviation should be safer because we don’t have all the same regulatory complexities and burden that a big airliner has. We should be better than that. And that’s where we’ll set the bar.”
As for an entirely new helicopter, all Smith would say is, “Robinson has more than doubled its engineering staff in the last 12 to 18 months. We’ve got folks in every discipline required to develop the next generation of Robinson product. They’ve been hard at work, putting in long hours to build a product that will give more capability to our customers. There’s a lot to that, and it’s not just one product that’s on the roadmap. It’s intended to go after places where we see really significant needs not being met in the market. And I think what Robinson produces are extremely affordable, field supportable, simple aircraft to maintain, operate, and fly, and you’ll get that in bigger doses in the months ahead.”

<h2>Schweizer</h2>
Schweizer, which produces the piston-powered S300C and S300CBi light helicopters, supports the more than 1,200 model 269 (Hughes 300) helicopters that are still flying. Since 2018, when the company was created to buy the assets of the 269 program from Sikorsky in 2018, it has built up its product support activities and parts supply chain.
One of its biggest upgrades was approval for a CFRS for the S300C and S300CBi. Schweizer has 16 service centers worldwide and its helicopters are used primarily for civil and military pilot training, cattle mustering, and fishspotting.
A turbine version of the iconic 300—the S333—is also available and in service, but there is no plan to manufacture more without firm orders, according to Schweizer president and CEO David Horton.
A refurbishing program for 300s has proven popular, both for helicopters owned by the factory and those that customers want to have refurbished. This brings older helicopters up to fresh standards with new canopy and door plexiglass, fresh upholstery and paint, new main and tail rotor blades, and an overhauled or new engine plus many options. Schweizer also offers a certified preowned helicopter program with factory inspection of the aircraft and optional add-ons such as avionics upgrades.
The 300CBi is targeted at the training market with a lighter maximum takeoff weight, lower horsepower rating, and lower direct operating costs. With a higher horsepower rating, the heavier 300C&nbsp;can fill more missions, including training that requires more power such as at higher altitudes. Operating costs are lower than other helicopters, he explained, because none of the parts have calendar limits. “Everything is limited by the hours flown, to the individual components based on their time in service. There’s no single point where the helicopter is required to have a complete overhaul. We replace various components when they’re due, and the helicopter remains in service.
“We have a very safe product,” Horton said. “It has a fully articulated [rotor system] with an independent cyclic and collective for the student and instructor, like what you’re going to see when you fly EMS or law enforcement or for a tour operator in a larger turbine.”

<h2>Sikorsky</h2>
The Sikorsky Innovations unit continues exploring rotorcraft technology and future designs that could someday reach production. Meanwhile, the company is focusing on continual improvement of its largest civil helicopter, the S-92, of which some 300 are operating, 80% in offshore oil and gas flying. One recently retired with 30,000 hours logged, averaging more than 2,000 hours per year of reliable service.
“We now have a growing segment, which is VIP and head of state,” said Leon Silva, v-p commercial programs. Thirteen countries operate the S-92 for flying leaders, including the U.S. with the VH-92A, which is slowly taking on more presidential flights as it transitions into the Marine Helicopter Squadron One role. “We anticipate that to be one of our growing markets. For that mission, it’s very comfortable and we can put restrooms in them.”
This year, Sikorsky expects to receive certification for the S-92’s Phase 4 gearbox. To create the gearbox, the company leveraged all the improvements and learnings from the past 10 years as well as Sikorsky’s experience making the massive CH53K gearbox plus $100 million in development.
The key feature of the new gearbox is a secondary oil system, which allows it to continue operating for more than seven hours after failure of the primary oil system. “Historically, that’s a 30-minute requirement,” said Silva. “This enables the aircraft and people in it to return to any location, using all the fuel available on the aircraft to bring it safely anywhere. This is a significant step in improving the S-92.”
In the latest configuration with the new gearbox, the helicopter will become the S-92A+, but the improvements will also be offered as an upgrade kit for any S-92. The upgrade includes a 1,200-pound maximum takeoff weight increase to 27,700 pounds, with structural changes to accommodate the higher weight. Lighter seats will also be offered along with an avionics management system software upgrade to version 11.0.
On the innovation front, Sikorsky has completed lab testing of a hybrid-electric powertrain using its own resources to design and build motors, power electronics, and flight controls. A GE turbine engine and turboelectric generator power the powertrain.
“We are in the next product cycle for Sikorsky,” said Igor Cherepinsky, director, Sikorsky Innovations. “We are looking at what we’re going to launch next. We have not been ignorant of eVTOLs and propulsion system electrification.”
Sikorsky specializes in super-medium and heavy rotorcraft, so it is looking at those sizes or something smaller, in the class of its S-76, an intermediate twin-engine helicopter. “We’re looking at what hybridization electrification brings to those platforms,” he said.
The tilt-wing HEX is how Sikorsky is testing these systems. As an uncrewed aircraft, the HEX allows for “rapid design integration migration so we don’t have to worry about safety to human beings as we go explore that configuration,” Cherepinsky explained. Additionally, the drivetrain uses the GE engine and turbogenerator and Sikorsky’s 1.2 MW triple-redundant electric motors, power electronics, and fly-by-wire flight controls. “We have experience in making transmissions,” he said, “so making motors was not a long stretch. We were pretty well poised to do that design work quite well.”
Before building an airframe, Sikorsky is building a power systems testbed that hosts all the components and will be used for ground and some hover testing. “We intend to fly that asset,” he said, either late this year or early next year. Once that flight testing is done, those components will be moved into a complete HEX airframe.
Another configuration will be more conventional—a single-rotor, hybrid-electric helicopter. “We’ve been flying single main rotors for many years,” he said. “We understand their advantages, and for a whole bunch of missions, nothing beats a very low disk loading. The very large single main rotor that spins relatively slow, it’s extremely efficient. That’s why single-rotor helicopters exist.”
The HEX rotors are quite large. “They’re certainly larger than the eVTOL [designs] and that’s because we want to take advantage of larger rotors as we understand them,” Cherepinsky said. “There’s still distributed electric propulsion, but distributed in a different manner [hybrid-electric instead of batteries]. Both of these aircraft that we’re talking about are fairly agnostic to the source of power because we’re being pragmatic and we would like to launch the product. Turbines are the best at converting stored energy into mechanical energy. That’s why we are talking about hybrid-electric distribution today.
“We also have done quite a bit of work on fuel cells. We understand where that is, and hydrogen has a place in aviation. It remains to be seen how big and where that’s going to go, but both of these aircraft are up for that. And, last but not least, when solid-state batteries or other technology like that matures, there might be an option.
“We even looked at the same vehicle having different sources of power. For example, some of our customers fly S-76s. They may fly fairly short missions that might be within the range of future batteries. Our future hybrid-electric product for those customers might be, here’s a battery-powered aircraft that gives you 150 nm of range. For other customers, like offshore oil or VIP transport with longer legs, you end up with hybrid-electric aircraft [that are] turbine-powered or hydrogen-powered. The neat part is the actual air vehicle remains the same. Now you’re talking about options for powerplants.”
When it comes to manufacturing, Sikorsky is designing in commonality between the two designs that will make manufacturing more streamlined and keep costs down.
“There’s a huge transformation happening with our manufacturing facility,” Cherepinsky said. The all-composite HEX with its 37-foot wingspan has no expensive and time-consuming castings or forgings. Motor housings are made with additive manufacturing by Sikorsky at its Stratford, Connecticut headquarters. “It’s not just hybrid-electric that’s enabling these new products, but definitely a manufacturing revolution that’s helping quite a bit,” he said.
A further twist to simplifying manufacturing is integrating batteries into the structure, as structural elements themselves. “Obviously, any hybrid-electric system needs some energy storage, so how do you integrate that with structure? All of the big power buses that are carrying these megawatts of power are also structural. As we’re making them, we can make them do exactly what we need, which saves a lot of weight.”
Such a highly integrated vehicle extends to the computing elements as well, not just for flight controls but motor controllers and avionics. “It’s a much more integrated vehicle management system,” said Cherepinsky. “The whole aircraft is sort of a flying computing cluster, where, if failures occur, different nodes can pick up different functionality.”
None of this work is being done outside the purview of potential customers. “We always organize a customer advisory group,” said Silva, and these include a diverse cross-section of potential buyers and operators. “On a fairly regular basis, we give them an update. We ask them for their feedback, and that is one of the ways that we shape the future to make sure we land with something that is going to meet their expectations. But folks who participate in a group like that are also influenced by their limited experience. So when we’re trying to push technology to the next level, [it may be] beyond what they’re imagining. It’s a balancing act. We don’t just build what the customers think should be the next thing, because they don’t always have the full toolset to recognize or appreciate the full potential of doing something new. So it’s a little bit of a balance.”
“We’re not just looking at traditional helicopter missions,” Cherepinsky added, “but looking to advance mobility in both civil and military markets and what you can do with vehicles that can go from downtown New York to downtown Chicago at almost business jet speeds but are able to hover and land in the middle of [downtown]. If you look at the logistics space and how we’re all used to the immediate delivery of things, we believe that these kinds of vehicles will help streamline the flow of goods for both civil and military customers.”
Both the HEX tilt-wing design and the single-rotor helicopter configurations are candidates for product launch, although they are aimed at different missions and markets, Cherepinsky explained. “We hope to make a product launch in the next year or two. I promise the next helicopter is going to be very different for both commercial and [military] customers. And you [will] see a lot of jaw drops when they see what that looks like.”

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In this article

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