Bell Helicopters må gjøre noe dramatisk for å overleve

Selskapet kan ikke leve av B429 og 412SP. Det droppet ut av AW139 prosjektet og ser at Agusta Westland og Eurocopter drar avgårde med rubb og rake av middelstunge helikopterbestillinger. Project Magellan ble lansert for en stund siden og jeg leser nå at Bell tar noen grep:

Launched a year ago as Project Magellan, the new helicopter will likely be known as the Bell 525 Magellan Super Medium Transport, based on trademark applications Bell filed last month.
According to individuals familiar with the project and internal documents provided to the Star-Telegram,  it would be the biggest helicopter Bell has ever built, weighing about 91/2 tons when fully loaded with passengers, baggage and fuel.
With twin turbine (jet) engines driving a new five-blade rotor, the helicopter can carry 16 passengers and a crew of two. It could fly at least 200 nautical miles, perhaps close to 300 miles, then carry back that many people on one tank of fuel, according to the documents provided to potential suppliers.
Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/01/17/3667202/vision-for-bell-helicopter-project.html#my-headlines-default#storylink=cpy