Seventh And Final New Technology To Be Demonstrated

Bell Helicopter announced at Heli-Expo Tuesday that its new 429 light twin helicopter passed a significant milestone at its Mirabel, Canada facility, when its new high performance main rotor system flew for the first time. Bell unveiled the 429 at Heli-Expo '05 (below) -- at which time it committed to demonstrating seven new technologies on the aircraft within a year.

(All right, so they missed that deadline by three weeks -- hardly an eternity in the world of aviation.)

"During this past year we have successfully completed the evaluation of an improved engine, intake, exhaust, tail rotor control cables, autopilot, aircraft data interface unit, and now the main rotor system," said Bill Stromberg, 429 Program Director. "This is the sixth and final major new system to be demonstrated before the 429's first flight later this year."

The main rotor blade -- a product of Bell's Modular Affordable Product Line (MAPL) -- incorporates new advanced manufacturing technology to make the blades more producible and affordable and features lower tip speed and swept tip design to reduce external noise levels.

The blades were produced by ATI, an employee-owned rapid prototyping facility in Newport News, VA. The rotor hub was manufactured at Bell's XWorX facility in Texas.

"After two hours of ground testing the blades were successfully flown for 30 minutes," said Stromberg. Flight testing of the rotor will continue for the next 2 months in various locations in Canada to demonstrate stable operation at altitudes to 20,000 ft and down to -40 degrees Celsius.

The 429 is one of the new products that Bell Helicopter has introduced during the past year and is a product of Bell's Voice of the Customer program -- where the customers' input helped shape the requirements and design. The Voice of the Customer process continues on the 429 and is now focusing on maintenance planning and training.

FMI: www.bellhelicopter.textron.com