Bell 525 Relentless Makes Successful First Flight
July 01 2015 - 7:04PM
Business Wire
World’s first commercial fly-by-wire helicopter
achieves highly anticipated milestone
Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, today
announced the successful first flight of the Bell 525 Relentless.
The maiden flight of the super-medium helicopter took place at the
company’s aircraft assembly center in Amarillo, Texas.
Footage and images can be found here.
"The Bell 525 was announced at Heli-Expo in 2012, and we are
proud to have achieved this milestone. We have diligently executed
our schedule to design, develop, build and test the aircraft, and
look forward to the next phase of flight testing as we work towards
certification,” said Matt Hasik, executive vice president of
commercial programs at Bell Helicopter. “The marketplace has been
awaiting the transformational capabilities of the Bell 525 and we
continue to see growing customer demand from around the globe for
this aircraft.”
The Bell 525 was designed with input from our Customer Advisory
Panel as an aircraft to meet future requirements for operational
safety, payload & range, cabin comfort and configuration and
reliability. One of the unique characteristics of the Bell 525 is
the ability to perform CAT-A takeoffs and landings, to and from a
helipad at maximum gross weight. Even in the event that one of the
two engines fails, the Bell 525 provides sufficient power to
maintain occupant safety while lifting off with a single
operational engine. With over 60 helicopters reserved under letters
of intent, the Bell 525 is designed to provide operators and end
users unmatched situational awareness and the ability to perform a
wide variety of missions under challenging weather conditions.
“The Bell 525 performed extremely well today,” said Troy
Caudill, senior flight test pilot at Bell Helicopter. “I am excited
to be a part of the development of this advanced aircraft and help
define the future of vertical lift.”
“The first flight test started with taxi testing and maneuvers
and then went into an initial hover, performing various hover
maneuvers and then tested low speed handling qualities with winds
gusting to 20 knots,” added Jeff Greenwood, senior flight test
pilot at Bell Helicopter.
The Bell 525 is the world’s first fly-by-wire commercial
helicopter designed to operate safely and reliably in austere
environments with decreased pilot workload. The aircraft features
the first fully-integrated touch screen avionics suite designed for
helicopters, the Garmin G5000H®. Best-in-class payload, cabin,
cargo volumes, and passenger comfort complement the technological
advancements on the aircraft.
About Bell HelicopterBell
Helicopter, a wholly owned subsidiary of Textron Inc., is an
industry-leading producer of commercial and military, manned and
unmanned vertical-lift aircraft and the pioneer of the
revolutionary tiltrotor aircraft. Globally recognized for
world-class customer service, innovation and superior quality,
Bell's global workforce serves customers flying Bell aircraft in
more than 120 countries.
About Textron Inc.Textron
Inc. is a multi-industry company that leverages its global network
of aircraft, defense, industrial and finance businesses to provide
customers with innovative solutions and services. Textron is known
around the world for its powerful brands such as Bell Helicopter,
Cessna, Beechcraft, Hawker, Jacobsen, Kautex, Lycoming, E-Z-GO,
Greenlee, and Textron Systems. More information is available at
www.textron.com.
Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking
statements which may project revenues or describe strategies,
goals, outlook or other non-historical matters; these statements
speak only as of the date on which they are made, and we undertake
no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements.
These statements are subject to known and unknown risks,
uncertainties, and other factors that may cause our actual results
to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, changes
in aircraft delivery schedules or cancellations or deferrals of
orders; the efficacy of research and development investments to
develop new products or unanticipated expenses or delays in
connection with the launching of significant new products or
programs; the timing of our new product launches or certifications
of our new aircraft products; our ability to keep pace with our
competitors in the introduction of new products and upgrades with
features and technologies desired by our customers; changes in
worldwide economic or political conditions that impact demand for
our products, interest rates or foreign exchange rates; changes in
government regulations or policies on the export and import of our
products; and performance issues with key suppliers, subcontractors
or business partners; and continued demand softness or volatility
in the markets in which we do business.
www.bellhelicopter.com
Bell Helicopter Textron Inc. Post Office Box
482, Fort Worth, TX 76101-0482
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Bell HelicopterLINDSEY VIOTTO,
+1-817-280-3100mediarelations@bh.comOnline Media
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