Bell agrees five-aircraft deal in Ukraine plus 505 NXi sale in Slovakia

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Bell Textron has revealed purchase agreements for five helicopters with corporate clients in Ukraine plus the first sale of a Bell 505 NXi in Slovakia.

The Ukrainian order, revealed at the European Rotors event in Cologne, Germany, includes two Bell 505s, two Bell 429s and one Bell 407GXi. “Both the Bell 429 and 505 continue to make exceptional progress in the European market, especially as ideal platforms for private travel,” said Duncan Van De Velde, Bell MD, Europe and Russia.

“Equipped with easily configurable cabins and advanced avionics, both aircraft offer efficient and comfortable transportation experiences for private operators and corporate customers,” he added. The Bell 407GXi will be supplied with the newly certified Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) configuration.

The Bell 429 is the most successful Bell model in Europe in the corporate, helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) and law enforcement segments, according to the OEM. More than 400 aircraft are operating worldwide. The model offers a large, customisable cabin with club seating to accommodate up to six passengers and wide doors for enhanced visibility and easy ingress and egress.

The Bell 505 is said to be one of Bell’s fastest growing commercial programmes, surpassing several significant milestones since its first delivery in 2017. The global fleet has surpassed more than 70,000 global fleet hours with aircraft operating across six continents. Bell has delivered more than 60 Bell 505 aircraft in Europe.

Meanwhile, the OEM has also revealed the first sale of a Bell 505 NXi in Slovakia, marking the company’s second 505 sale in the country. The pharmaceutical company Wellpharma will take delivery of the aircraft in summer 2022 at Bell’s Prague Service Center. The corporate-configured aircraft will be equipped with the latest Garmin G1000 NXi avionics and used for corporate and private transportation.

“Since receiving EASA [EU Aviation Safety Agency] certification at the end of 2020, Bell is thrilled to include the Garmin G1000 NXi integrated avionics suite as standard equipment in every new Bell 505, as well as retrofit for existing Bell 505s,” said Van De Velde.

The Garmin G1000H NXi flight deck is said to equip the light single aircraft with improved situational awareness, faster information processing and upgraded displays to lower pilot workload and an improved in-flight experience. The Bell 505 NXi also features a dual channel FADEC-controlled engine with optional dual core processors to cut boot time by more than 50%.

Bell has delivered more than 60 Bell 505s in the Europe to customers in countries such as Switzerland, Italy and Montenegro.

Top: (L to R) Patrick Moulay, Bell, senior vice president International Sales, Maksym Lunov, owner of Heliclub and Duncan Van De Velde, Bell, MD, Europe and Russia celebrate the agreements at European Rotors.

Below: Bell has made the first sale of the Bell 505 NXi to a corporate customer in Slovakia.

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