Bell 429 Gets
Certified
It’s official—the Bell 429 light twin
helicopter has received certification
from Transport Canada Civil
Aviation (TCCA). With the FAA
having also granted its certification,
the floodgates are open and Bell
is scheduled to begin delivering
429s to its North American clients.
According to the Fort Worth,
Texas-based company, more than
300 letters of intent to purchase
429s have been received to date.
The Bell 429 has room for up
to eight people and is equipped with a full glass cockpit. Capable
of a maximum cruise speed of 142 knots and a maximum range
of 350 nm, the 429 can carry up to 2,700 lbs. It is powered by
two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW207D1 engines. Safety features include a composite hub and rotor system, FADEC and an
Integrated Instrument Display System (IIDS) to reduce in-flight
demands on pilot attention.
Bell Helicopter’s 429 has achieved Transport Canada Civil Aviation (TCAA) and FAA certification.
Photo courtesy of Bell Helicopter
” This is an outstanding helicopter and one that is really resonating with our customers,” says Dick Millman, president and CEO of
Bell. “I am extremely proud of the Bell team for the work they have
done to create the 429.”
The Bell 429 is aimed at the corporate, EMS, law enforcement
and utility markets. Time will tell if it can unseat Eurocopter’s
popular EC-135, which currently dominates the EMS market.
■ COMMERCIAL
Sikorsky’s X2 Technology Demonstrator Achieves Milestone
Stratford, Conn.-based Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation’s X2
Technology demonstrator
has completed two test flights
that included full engagement of the unique propeller for the first time. In one
hour of testing conducted in
two flights, the aircraft flew
at speeds reaching 52 knots in
one test and 42 knots with the
propeller providing forward
thrust in the second flight.
The X2 Technology demonstrator is designed to reach
speeds of 250 knots, twice as
fast as an average helicopter
travels today. The demonstrator has accumulated more than
three hours of successful flight
time at Sikorsky’s facility in
Horseheads, N.Y. The aircraft
Sikorsky’s X2 demonstrator during a test flight around Horseheads, N. Y.
will relocate to the company’s
Development Flight Center in
West Palm Beach, Fla., before
the end of July for continued
test flights leading up to the
250-knot speed record.
The X2 Technology demonstrator combines an integrated suite of technologies
intended to advance the state-of-the-art, counter-rotating
coaxial rotor helicopter.
Photo courtesy of Sikorsky
It is designed to demonstrate a helicopter can cruise
comfortably at 250 knots,
while retaining such helicopter
attributes as good low speed
handling, efficient hovering
and autorotation safety, and
a seamless transition to high
speeds. Sikorsky is maturing
this technology in preparation
for emerging missions, including rapid air medical response
for the civil market and reconnaissance, attack, and special
operations missions for the
military market.
“The program is progressing extremely well both technologically and from a future
applicability standpoint,” says
Mark Miller, vice president of
research and engineering.
“Certainly we’ve got much
more to do, but interest continues to grow among both
the military and commercial
sectors in how this technology
might improve current operations and enable new missions
that today are simply not possible with the current helicopter flight limitations.”
