Helicopter - Bell 525 update - AIN

Second Bell 525 Relentless Joins Flight-test Program

Test flying of the new Bell 525 super medium twin helicopter is “ahead of plan,” according to Bell Helicopter 525 program vice president Larry Thimmesch. The first 525 flight-test vehicle (FTV1) made its maiden flight on July 1. A second 525 (FTV2) joined the program last week and is expected to begin airborne trials soon, he said. Overall, the 525 remains on track for certification in 2017, Thimmesch added, with the program eventually to include five test aircraft. To date, Bell has 75 letters of intent for 525s from customers, the majority coming from the offshore energy services (OGP) industry. The company has yet to formally release a price for the aircraft, though it is expected to be in the $20- to $24 million range. FTV1 has flown 65 hours and validated the 165-knot Vne and 12,000-foot ceiling, as well as begun hover performance testing in and out of ground effect and initial autorotation testing. “Getting into a production cadence is really where we are focused right now,” Thimmesch said. “The good news about flight test is we spent a lot of time in the systems integration lab validating components integration, throwing faults in the system, and seeing how the aircraft reacts. That has really paid off.”