Le Bourget - Bell 525 - First flight soon

Slowed by Supply Chain, Bell 525 Nears First Flight

The Bell 525 “super medium” twin is nearing first flight, delayed by a few months mainly because of supply chain issues, Bell Helicopter president and CEO John Garrison said yesterday at the Paris Air Show. Meanwhile, the 505 Jet Ranger X light single is progressing toward certification. Ground testing of the first 525—destined to be the world’s first commercial fly-by-wire rotorcraft in service—continues, and Bell is planning to have three aircraft flying by year-end. The development program will involve five helicopters. Early last year Bell was still hoping to fly the 525 by December 2014. “What has paced the program is the supply chain,” Garrison explained. Also slowing upfront progress are conformity inspections. Bell holds letters of intent for sixty 525s, many of them for offshore oil-and-gas operations. The two 505 Jet Ranger Xs now flying have accumulated a combined 180 hours. High-altitude testing will take place this week in Colorado. The 505 will receive Transport Canada certification first, followed by FAA and EASA validation. Letters of intent now cover 350 copies, and the construction of the Lafayette, La. factory is almost complete, Garrison said. In the civil business, oil-and-gas applications account for “only 10 to 15 percent of our revenue,” he said. However, the current weak market in offshore oil-and-gas is slowing oil-based economies and contributing to soft sales globally, he added.