Manufacturer Hillberg Helicopters | ||
The Hillberg Turbine Exec is an American helicopter that was designed and produced by Hillberg Helicopters of Fountain Valley, California. Now out of production, when it was available the aircraft was supplied as a conversion kit, for amateur construction.
Contents
Design and development
The aircraft was designed as a conversion kit for the Rotorway Exec, to convert it to turbine power, under the US Experimental - Amateur-built aircraft rules. The resulting aircraft features a single main rotor, a two-seats-in side-by-side configuration enclosed cockpit with a windshield, skid-type landing gear and a 150 hp (112 kW) Solar T62 turbo-shaft engine. The T-62 was designed as an auxiliary power unit (APU) and used on helicopters such as the Boeing-Vertol CH-47 Chinook and Boeing-Vertol CH-46A Sea Knight. Due to the lightweight engine used the conversion kit, the aircraft's empty weight is reduced and the useful load is increased.
The Hillberg Turbine Exec fuselage is made from aluminum and steel tubing, plus fiberglass for the cockpit fairing. Its two-bladed main rotor has a diameter of 25 ft (7.6 m). The aircraft has an empty weight of 750 lb (340 kg) and a gross weight of 1,485 lb (674 kg), giving a useful load of 735 lb (333 kg). The cabin width is 40 in (102 cm).
The Hillberg conversion kit included the T-62 engine, reduction gear clutch, tail rotor drive shaft and hangar bearings, main transmission and a new fuel tank.
Operational history
By March 2015 one example had been registered in the United States with the Federal Aviation Administration.
Specifications (Turbine Exec)
Data from Purdy
General characteristics
Performance