Robinson refines fuel cell system ahead of hydrogen-powered R66's first flight

Robinson refines fuel cell system ahead of hydrogen-powered R66’s first flight

flightglobal.com | Dominic Perry | 24 April 2026

Manufacturer continues initiative to develop a zero-emission version of its best-selling turbine helicopter.

Robinson Helicopter has begun “up-and-away” flights of a hydrogen fuel cell-powered version of its R44, with the modified rotorcraft leaving the confines of its base airport in Bromont near Montreal in Canada for the first time.

Having carried out “pattern work” along the airport’s runway since its first flight last year, latterly to allow the test team – led by partner company United Bioelectronics – to balance the power provided between the fuel cells and batteries, the R44 is now flying “all around the region”, Robinson chief executive David Smith told FlightGlobal at this week’s Aero Friedrichshafen show.

Much of the hydrogen powertrain is hidden inside the fuselage, but to provide thermal management for the fuel cells, the R44 features distinctive nacelles “that look like turbofan engines” mounted above the skids. These house the cooling fans and other heat exchanger elements.

A key target of the expanded flight-test regime is to assess the effect of those nacelles “on stability during higher speed flight” and the magnitude of drag penalty they incur, a figure Smith says will likely be “meaningful”...more
https://www.flightglobal.com/aero-friedrichshafen/2026/04/robinson-refines-fuel-cell-system-ahead-of-hydrogen-powered-r66s-first-flight/

"We're not gonna have Hydrogen" -Dumpster Donnie