Giddy-up, Giddy-up, Giddy-up 429 …

Queensland—Australia’s northeastern-most and second-largest state—will take delivery of three new Bell 429 helicopters for Queensland Police Service’s POLAIR fleet. The helicopters—which are slated for delivery in late 2023–will be used to patrol southeast Queensland and support crime fighting efforts in the community. 

The Queensland Police Service will join the New South Wales Police—their neighbors to the south—as Bell 429 operators, with the latter having commenced operations of its trio of new Bell 429 helicopters last year.

The acquisition was part of a new long-term contract into which the Queensland Police Service has entered with Surf Life Saving Queensland (SLSQ), a not-for-profit lifeguard organization.

Jacinto Monge, managing director of Bell’s Asia/Pacific division states: “The selection of the Bell 429 by the Queensland Police Service reinforces the Bell 429’s reputation as the next-generation law enforcement helicopter. The Bell 429 has proven its capability to meet the rigorous demands of police aviation units across the globe with demonstrated high availability rates and safety metrics. We look forward to working with our partners SLSQ to ensure a smooth entry into service and seeing the POLAIR Bell 429s serving Queenslanders.”

To date, the Bell 429 global fleet has logged in excess of five-hundred-thousand hours in service of corporate, Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS), law enforcement, and utility missions. Across the world, more than four-hundred Bell 429 aircraft offer operators large cabins, intuitive avionics displays, and excellent performance.

The Bell 429’s utility and popularity derive, in part, of the ease with which the aircraft can be configured to the specific requirements of the numerous missions to which it’s suited. Accoutrements the likes of infrared cameras, searchlights, wire strike protection systems, auxiliary fuel tanks, and fast rope insertion/extraction systems can be added or removed from the machine in hours. 

The synthesis of the Bell 429’s capability and flexibility will no doubt prove a significant asset to those charged with the oversight and protection of Queensland’s vast terrestrial and oceanic territories. 

FMI: www.bellflight.com