Professional Pilot, October 2018
Bell Bell is so confident on the transformation of the industry over the coming decades that earlier this year they dropped Helicopters from their name They may have big plans for the future but they still make a wide variety of helicopters for the present Bell currently offers 6 models with variations on 2 of them from light singles to medium twins From the classic 206L4 to their newest 505 JetRanger X Bell offers a diverse portfolio for every segment of the helicopter market While the company makes upgraded versions of existing models such as the 407GXi 412EPI and 429WLG they also continue to reveal new products like the medium lift 525 Relentless soon to be certified When the 525 comes to market it will be teeming with new technology including fly by wire controls the newest Garmin G5000H Leonardo AW609 52 PROFESSIONAL PILOT October 2018 Their catalog includes popular light models in both single and twin engine configurations including the AW119Kx and AW109Power Trekker GrandNew These models are used in a variety of missions with EMS work leading the way Where Leonardo hits their stride is in the favorites of rescue firefighting and gas and oil avionics suite next gen rotor hubs and best in class performance Future innovations are being developed on their test bed FCX 001 and Urban Air Taxi On the military front Bell continues to produce the venerable UH 1Y Super Huey and AH 1Z Viper newest SuperCobra And their tiltrotor portfolio will soon increase when the existing V 22 Osprey is joined by the lighter multi mission capable V 280 Valor and the prototype unmanned V 247 Vigilant Leonardo Following in the footsteps of their French counterparts the Italian conglomerate formerly known as both AgustaWestland and Finmeccanica reorganized and rebranded themselves as Leonardo in 2016 While the helicopter division is but 1 of their many subsections including aerospace defense and security it is arguably the face of the company Celebrating their 70th anniversary in 2018 Leonardo too boast an impressive array of options for the vertical lift market Bell AirTaxi Bell 429 Leonardo AW189 Leonardo AW139 Leonardo AW169 Bell 525 Relentless Bell FCX 001 Bell 505 JetRanger X Photos courtesy Bell Helicopters Photos courtesy Leonardo
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