HILLER AIRCRAFT has flown its first new-build UH-12E3 light utility helicopter after the production machine was rolled out earlier this month from its assembly site in Newark, California.
The helicopter is the first of a batch of 20 machines to be built for a Thai investor group which helped Jeffrey Hiller, son of the company's original founder, Stanley Hiller, acquire the company in 1994. Part of the batch will be made up of five-seat UH-12E5s, the first production version of which will be completed by mid-June.
The E3 and E5 are powered by the 250kW (340shp)-rated Textron Lycoming VO-540 piston engine, but the 310kW (de-rated) Allison 250-C20B turboshaft has been offered as an option. Production of spare parts for more than 1,000 Hiller helicopters still in service began at the new California site in September 1994.
Source: Flight International
