Bell 525 Relentless Makes First Flight

Stephen Pope

Thursday, July 02, 2015 at 06:23 PM ET

Verified

Bell 525 Relentless Bell Helicopter

Key Takeaways:

Bell Helicopter successfully completed the maiden flight of its new 525 Relentless turbine twin, marking its largest and most capable civil model.
The helicopter features an innovative triple-redundant fly-by-wire flight control system with sidesticks, performing well during its initial hover and low-speed handling evaluation despite strong winds.
The 525 Relentless is projected to offer a 155-knot cruise speed, accommodate up to 20 passengers/crew, carry a 7,400-pound useful load, and includes a Garmin G5000H touchscreen avionics suite.
Bell has already secured over 60 orders for the new model, with certification expected within the next year.

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Bell Helicopter test pilots flew the new fly-by-wire 525 Relentless turbine twin for the first time yesterday at the company production center in Amarillo, Texas, officially christening the helicopter maker’s biggest and most capable civil model.

The pilots evaluated the 525’s hover and low-speed handling capabilities during the test flight, which was made slightly more challenging by a buffeting 20-knot wind. The Relentless is the first helicopter equipped with triple-redundant fly-by-wire flight controls and sidesticks. Despite the strong wind, the 525 was said to perform well.