Fort Worth's police department signed a purchase agreement with Bell Textron for a second Bell 505 helicopter for its air support unit. The department took delivery of its first Bell 505 in 2021 and it has been a longtime Bell customer, including for the Bell 47 and 206 JetRanger.
The air support unit “plans to increase its public safety presence with the platform’s versatile-mission capabilities, such as search-and-rescue missions,” according to Bell.
“Bell is proud the Fort Worth Police Department has chosen to expand its existing all-Bell public safety fleet with the purchase of an additional Bell 505, continuing our long-standing relationship with the department,” said Lane Evans, Bell's managing director for North America. “We remain confident that the Bell 505 platform will continue to be a great asset to the community and surrounding areas for years to come.”
With a Garmin G1000H NXi glass cockpit and synthetic vision, the 505 offers improved visibility with wide panoramic windows and an open cabin design. It cruises at 125 knots and has a range of 306 nm. Powered by a Safran Arrius 2R turboshaft engine, the 505 can hover in ground effect to 14,450 feet or out of ground effect at 10,460 feet.