Bell Helicopter signed a letter of intent (LOI) with PT Whitesky Aviation in Jakarta for 30 Bell 505 Jet Ranger X helicopters, the Fort Worth, Texas-based company announced today. The company will use the new light singles for air-taxi operations throughout Indonesia and its more than 14,000 islands. The deal pushes the number of LOIs for the 505 past 380, including more than 130 in the Asia Pacific region, alone, according to Matt Hasik, Bell’s executive vice president of commercial business.
PT Whitesky is an emerging aviation company, specializing in non-scheduled charter operations. The company currently operates a fleet of six Bell helicopters—three 429s and three 407s. Earlier this year, PT Whitesky enrolled its fleet in Bell's new customer advantage plan, a new factory-backed aftermarket parts-and-service plan aimed at providing customers with predictable monthly costs, reduced inventory costs and maximum aircraft availability.
Three 505s are currently in flight test and Transport Canada certification is expected later this year. The 505 is powered by the Turbomeca Arrius 2R engine with dual-channel Fadec. It features Garmin G1000H avionics on the flight deck.