Operational Testing With Real-World Offshore Mission Flights

Bell Textron and Omni Helicopters International Group (Omni, OHI) announced a joint operational evaluation program of offshore flights with the Bell 525 helicopter to be conducted for several months at Omni’s fast-paced operation at Georgetown, Guyana, pending type certification.

Omni is a Latin American air mobility provider, and following certification, Bell together with Omni will conduct a series of flights with the Bell 525 loaded with representative weights anticipated during actual missions and integrated into the daily flight planning processes and flight schedule. Flights will go to multiple offshore installations and undergo unloading, loading and refueling in the established routine to evaluate the 525 in a sustained trial under actual field conditions.

Danny Maldonado, Chief Commercial Officer at Bell said, “We’re honored to be working with Omni to leverage the advanced technology the Bell 525 aircraft will bring to the industry. This program will enable the Bell 525 to demonstrate its performance, capabilities and reliability as the ideal offshore aircraft.

“The Bell 525 was designed for offshore operations in the oil and gas market, and we’re thrilled to embark on this endeavor to showcase its revolutionary capabilities to the industry,” he said.

Duncan Moore, Group COO at OHI said, “We’re thrilled to have devised this innovative and industry leading program with Bell. Omni is a company that embraces innovation and solves challenges for our customers, and one such challenge facing us is the selection of a future helicopter for medium and long-range offshore missions.

“We’re confident that the Bell 525 will prove itself in this space, and Omni is delighted to facilitate the opportunity in the highly representative Guyana mission environment. We’re also delighted for our team, and the wider aviation community in Guyana, who will be amongst the first to get exposure to this next generation aircraft,” he added.

FMI:  www.textron.com/