Bell Sees 'Strong Path Forward' To 525 Certification

Having had its predictions for certification of its 525 slide several times over the past few years, Bell is now taking a more circumspect approach. On Monday at Verticon, Mike Deslatte—who took over leadership of the 525 program in the middle of 2024 as its senior v-p—said the aircraft is still in the type certification process.

“In terms of a date for receipt for receiving type certification, we don't fully control the timeline,” he said. “Obviously, we've got to progress through the final steps to the FAA, and so I'm not going to be very specific in terms of a forecast.”

He noted that the fly-by-wire, midsize twin helicopter, which launched in 2012 and first flew nearly a decade ago, has thus far completed more than 60 certification deliverables with the FAA, as well as many critical type inspection authorization flight tests. This means the finish line could finally be in sight.

“We only have a handful of tests left before we submit our final documents to the FAA,” Deslatte said. “There really isn't a technical issue that we're working through. It is just the administrative timeline of trying to get through the remaining deliverables.”

The OEM currently has two aircraft engaged in cold weather testing in Alaska and icing testing in Michigan. “These tests will support cold weather expansion of the 525, and full icing capability, both of which are anticipated to be introduced after the initial type cert of the aircraft,” said Deslatte.

Another factor in the 525’s certification could be out of the manufacturer’s hands in the form of budget cuts to the FAA’s apparatus. “What I can say about the 525 is that our local FAA representatives have been fairly stable,” Deslatte told the audience. “Now, obviously they're going through some organizational change, but in terms of the partnership that we have with respect to getting the 525 to the finish line, we really don't anticipate any direct impact.”

He added that the manufacturer has recently “reinvigorated” its dealings with EASA over concurrent certification for the 525 and noted that it will have better focus later this year on what additional requirements, if any, it would need to secure European validation of the helicopter.

Following type certification, the company expects to engage in a 525 operational evaluation with Omni Helicopters Guyana, according to Danny Maldonado, Bell’s chief commercial officer responsible for the airframer’s global commercial sales and programs.

The aircraft will be flown initially by Bell pilots, with Omni crews slowly integrated. The program aims to accumulate 500 hours of simulated, real-world missions over six months.

“The market needs the aircraft, and we've been working with Bell for more than a year on the potential to do a full-scale kind of operational evaluation,” said Duncan Moore, group COO for Omni Helicopters International. “There's a lot of interest in the product, and it just, in our view, needed someone to step forward and say, 'Okay, let's take it to work, let's bridge the gap between the certification flying and the real world,' so we have a consenting customer in the shape of Exxon in Guyana and a highly representative mission.”

On the military side, the company is focused on two procurement program competitions: the long-range assault aircraft for which it is touting its V-280 Valor tiltrotor, and what's being referred to right now as the Flight School Next the competition for the next rotorcraft trainer for the U.S. Army. Bell is submitting a purpose-built military trainer variant of its 505.

When asked about how the recently announced U.S. tariffs could affect Bell’s business with some of its products manufactured in Canada, Maldonado said the company is monitoring “a very dynamic situation.” He does expect any tariffs to have some impact, but with other variables swirling, he wouldn’t make any assumptions.

The airframer celebrates its 90th anniversary this year, and at its Verticon booth this week it is showing a full slate of its products on display. This included a 525 in offshore transport configuration; a 505 recently delivered to the Peoria, Arizona police department; an aeromedical 407GXi from Global Medical Response, which recently signed for deliveries of 15 of the IFR-configured aircraft; a 429 from Quiktrip; and a Subaru Bell 412EPX in firefighting configuration from Kern County, California.