Bell 505's second flight test vehicle achieves first flight

Fort Worth, Texas – Bell Helicopter’s Bell 505 Jet Ranger X second flight test vehicle (FTV) has successfully achieved its first flight. The Bell 505’s FTV 1 completed its first flight in November 2014, and the program has quickly progressed, performing additional flight tests and numerous practice autorotations. 

 

“We are so excited to announce this accomplishment to our customers eagerly awaiting their aircraft. This puts us one step closer to certification and production,” said David Smith, program director of the Bell 505 Jet Ranger X. “The aircraft performed incredibly well, successfully demonstrating a low traffic speed traffic pattern at 60kts.”

 

The Bell 505 was designed based on extensive input provided by a customer advisory council (CAC). Bell Helicopter unveiled the Jet Ranger X at HELI-Expo 2014 in February and has already received more than 300 letters of intent for the new model.

 

“We continue to make excellent progress with the flight test program and are working to assess key operational scenarios customers may be faced with.” added Smith. 

 

The Bell 505 Jet Ranger X blends the proven systems of the Bell 206 with advanced technology and a sleek, modern design. The Garmin G1000H integrated avionics suite provides pilots critical flight information at a glance to maximize situational awareness. Pilot workload is further reduced by the Turbomeca Arrius 2R engine with dual channel Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC). The aircraft’s high inertia rotor delivers autorotation capability, and a newly designed cabin seats five passengers.

 

Bell Helicopter is a wholly owned subsidiary of Textron Inc.