Although it wears a Swiss registration, the Bell 429 GlobalRanger on show at Helitech is operated by Andorra’s Heliand to support helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) and search-and-rescue (SAR) operations in the mountainous principality in the Pyrenees.
The aircraft was delivered at Bell Helicopter’s Prague facility on Dec. 14, 2017, becoming the 20th HEMS-configured aircraft delivered in 2017. Patric Moulay, executive vice president, commercial sales and marketing for Bell, said, “We continue to see strong growth for the Bell 429 in Europe, particularly for HEMs and SAR mission segments. The Bell 429 offers the best readiness rate of any aircraft in its class, making it the choice aircraft when minutes matter.”
The Bell 429 was designed to meet the needs of the emergency medical services (EMS) industry and combined the engine and rotor drive system from the Model 427 with a spacious new airframe developed under Bell’s Modular Affordable Product Line (MAPL) concept. The type made its maiden flight on Feb. 27, 2007 and by July 2018, a delivered fleet of more than 300 aircraft had amassed 330,000 flying hours across a wide range of roles.