Helicopters Bell Textron delivers 400th Bell 505

Bell Textron has announced that it reached a new milestone in its successful Bell 505 programe: The delivery of aircraft 400.

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Bell Textron, a leading helicopter manufacturer, has celebrated a further milestone in its Bell 505 helicopter programme. At the company´s facilities in Mirabel, Canada, the 400th 505 aircraft was delivered to European customer Al Barratt, who has co-founded the company Grenade and founded Cotswold Aviation. Both companies are based in the United Kingdom.

“The Bell 505 is an incredible aircraft, and we are proud to celebrate the 400th delivery to Mr. Barratt,” said LaShan Bonaparte, vice president, Commercial Sales, Bell. “The Bell 505 provides outstanding performance capabilities, modern avionics and a versatile cabin for our customers. This will be a great addition to Cotswold Aviation’s fleet.” 

Al Barratt added: “Flying in the 505 is a unique experience and a perfect solution for business travel around the UK and other parts of Europe […] This aircraft enables me to save time throughout my day by avoiding traffic and gets me quickly and safely to my destination. I’m already operating two single engine fixed wing aircraft, and I’ve been looking for the ‘rotary equivalent’ of those machines. This stunning 505 fits my mission perfectly, blending performance and technology while reducing pilot workload.”

Back in 2017, Bell delivered the first 505 aircraft, after it underwent extensive test programs to ensure flight safety and to reach type certificate by the leading aviation authorities. Since then, Bell was able to ramp up the deliveries.

Currently, there are Bell 505 operators on six different continents and customers are using it mainly for corporate and VIP operations. Over the years, Bell has introduced new technologies for the aircraft, such as an enhanced avionic suite and auto-pilot capabilities.

The aircraft can accommodate up to five passengers on board and uses the modern Garmin G1000H NXi avionics suite. The helicopter is powered by an Safran Arrius 2R engine with dual-channel FADEC, which allows workload reduction and better situational awareness for the pilot.

Source © news.bellflight.com

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