Bell Helicopter

The FAA has awarded experimental certificate renewal to the Bell 525 Relentless, allowing Bell Helicopter to resume the flight test program after last year’s crash. “Bell Helicopter has worked with the NTSB and FAA since the accident and we are confident in the resumption of flight test activity,” said Bell’s president and CEO Mitch Snyder. […]

The five-seat Bell 505 Jet Ranger X received FAA certification six months after notching Canadian approval of the light single, Bell Helicopter announced today. “This is another significant milestone in our journey to market entry for the Bell 505,” said Mitch Snyder, Bell Helicopter’s President and CEO. “This aircraft incorporates the latest advancements in safety […]

Bell Helicopter president Mitch Snyder today called the new FCX-001 concept a “vision of the future” when he pulled back the curtains to show off the mockup at Heli-Expo in Dallas. The sleek new helicopter, reminiscent of an X-plane, features a single pilot seat in the center of the cockpit confirming this next-generation machine will […]

The Bell Helicopter 505 Jet Ranger X, a five-seat multi-mission helicopter, has achieved certification by Transport Canada Civil Aviation (TCCA). The light helicopter progressed quickly through certification after its unveiling at Heli Expo in 2014. “The Bell 505 is truly a game changer in the short light single market, and we are proud of the […]

Two Bell Helicopter employees were killed Wednesday during a flight test in rural Texas near the company’s XworX facility in Arlington. The pilots were testing Bell’s new fly-by-wire 525 Relentless turbine twin when the helicopter crashed in a field. There were no other injuries. The crash is being investigated by the FAA and NTSB, and […]

Bell Helicopter put its multi-mission 412EPI helicopter to the ultimate test this week near Mount Everest in Nepal. Bell demonstration pilots showed off takeoffs and landings at 15,200 feet, hovered in ground effect at nearly 18,000 feet density altitude and proceeded to climb as high as 20,000 feet pressure altitude in the medium-size helicopter, which […]

Two years after Bell Helicopter announced the 505 Jet Ranger X, the company has made progress toward the certification of the five-seat light single-engine helicopter. Five hundred seventy-five hours of flight testing have been completed on three test platforms since the first flight in November 2014, and Bell Helicopter expects certification by the end of […]

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 […]

Air Methods, one of the world’s largest air medical transportation providers, announced an order for 200 of Bell’s newly introduced 407GXP light single-engine helicopter for EMS duty at bases across the United States. The order marks one of the biggest commercial sales in Bell Helicopter’s history, not to mention one of the largest orders in […]