Nautilus Aviation receives five Bell 407GXi helicopters from Jet Aviation

Australian helicopter operator Nautilus Aviation has taken delivery of five customised Bell 407GXi helicopters from Jet Aviation. The aircraft will be deployed on charter missions and firefighting, utility, tourism and flood relief flights.

Modifications to the aircraft include role equipment installation, such as air conditioning, emergence pop-out floats, emergency locator transmitters.

Jet Aviation, Bell’s independent representative in Australia and Customer Service Facility, reassembled the aircraft  after shipping and managed the issuance of the Australian certificate of airworthiness. The five helicopters, sold by Jet Aviation, were customised at Jet Aviation Bankstown. The first aircraft was delivered to Nautilus in the fourth quarter (Q4) last year, with the final aircraft delivered in Q2, 2023.

Ian D’Arcy vice president MRO operations Pacific & rotary sales said the company  offered a full, in-house service from sale of the aircraft to customisation and maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO). “The delivery of these five aircraft is the latest milestone in our decades-long relationship with Nautilus and we are honoured to remain their partner of choice for rotary sales, bespoke modification, and MRO,” said D’Arcy. Jet Aviation has delivered 13 new Bell aircraft in Australia and New Zealand in the past year.

 Nautilus Aviation’s CEO Aaron Finn said: “One of our primary reasons for selecting the Bell 407 GXi Aircraft as the flagship of our fleet was the versatility of the airframe and the upgrades made to enhance both customer and pilot experiences.” The company is headquartered in Cairns, Queensland, north eastern Australia.

Jet Aviation has five rotary customisation and maintenance facilities in Australia and the Middle East, including two RBI Hawker facilities in partnership with Bell Helicopters. Pictured: A Bell 407GXi helicopter outside a Jet Aviation hangar.