Bell Delivers First Three Bell 505 Helicopters to China

Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company delivered the first three Bell 505 Jet Ranger X helicopters destined for the Chinese market during a ceremony held at Bell’s facility in Mirabel, Canada. These are the first three aircraft of 110 ordered in 2017 by Reignwood International Investment Group Company Ltd, launch operator and exclusive authorized reseller in China for the 505. This first delivery follows the recent certification of the Bell 505 by the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

“Our team in Mirabel is extremely proud to have built and to deliver the first aircraft to Reignwood,” said Cynthia Garneau, president of Bell Canada.” This is a very important milestone for Bell in Asia-Pacific and we are thrilled to contribute to the development of the commercial rotorcraft industry in China.”

“The arrival of the new Bell 505 Jet Ranger X builds on the success of the renowned Jet Ranger legacy in China,” said Jacinto Monge, Bell managing director for North Asia. “We are excited that customers will now be able to experience the new Bell 505 Jet Ranger X and we are looking forward to seeing many more taking the skies as we continue to grow our footprint in China.”

The Bell 505 Jet Ranger X is a five-seat, single-engine, turbine helicopter, the customer-driven design of the aircraft places safety, performance and affordability at the forefront. Bell 505 is the first helicopter in its class equipped with the Garmin G1000H Integrated Avionics Suite; it provides pilots critical flight information at a glance to maximize situational awareness. Pilot workload is further reduced by the Safran Helicopter Engines Arrius 2R with dual channel Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC).

It is designed to meet a wide variety of missions with its flat floor, increased cabin volume and clam shell doors that will provide customers the configuration flexibility needed in today's market. The Bell 505 cargo hook has been approved by the FAA to carry up to 2,000 lbs., including water for firefighting operations. The first three Bell 505s in China will be used for air tourism, air medical and agriculture missions respectively.