Second Bell 505 makes first flight

second Bell 505 Jet Ranger X

The second Bell 505 Jet Ranger X helicopter has performed its first flight. The Bell 505’s flight test vehicle one completed its first flight in November of last year.

The first Bell 505 has been performing additional flight tests and numerous practice autorotations.

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David Smith, program director of the Bell 505 Jet Ranger X, said: “We are so excited to announce this accomplishment to our customers eagerly awaiting their aircraft. This puts us one step closer to certification and production. The aircraft performed incredibly well, successfully demonstrating a low traffic speed traffic pattern at 60 knots.”

Bell Helicopter unveiled the Jet Ranger X at Heli-Expo 2014 in February and has already received more than 300 letters of intent for the new model.

“We continue to make excellent progress with the flight test program and are working to assess key operational scenarios customers may be faced with,” added Smith.