Bell 505 and 412EPX Highlight OEM’s Vertical Advantages

Bell Textron is displaying its 505 light single and a Subaru Bell 412EPX medium-twin-engine helicopter at the Dubai Airshow while also highlighting other helicopters targeting the Middle East market. These include the 525, the first civil flight-by-wire helicopter, which is undergoing the final stages of FAA certification; the 407 aerial scout/light attack platform; and the 429 for law enforcement and emergency medical services (EMS).

Since its introduction in 2017, Bell has delivered more than 500 Bell 505 Jet Ranger X aircraft to operators in 55 countries, and the company is now positioning the helicopter as the next training platform for military ab initio programs. The latest such proposal is for the U.S. Army’s Flight School Next program, and an IFR version of the 505 would replace the twin-engine UH-72 Lakota. The Lakota is based on the Airbus Helicopters EC145 and is also used by the U.S. Navy.

Advantages of the 505 design include a high-inertia rotor system that Bell claims is better suited to helping students learn autorotation maneuvers, as well as the Garmin G1000H NXi integrated avionics suite, and a roomy cockpit with space for pilots wearing headsets, helmets, and night-vision goggles. Observer students can view the front-seat pilots from stadium-style rear seats equipped with dedicated audio panels.

Bell's sister company, TRU Simulation, offers its Veris virtual reality (VR) flight training device in a Bell 505 configuration. Replacing larger visual displays with the VR headset not only makes the simulator’s footprint much smaller but also gives students the ability to view the outside world and helicopter interior in any direction, including a display of their own hands manipulating the cockpit controls and avionics. The simulator’s six-degrees-of-freedom motion base adds to the realism of flight training activities, which can replicate scenarios such as slope and building landings, EMS scenes with obstacles, full-down autorotations, and entry into inadvertent instrument meteorological conditions.

The next major program set for certification is the Bell 525, and this is expected soon. “Bell continues type inspection authorization flight testing and is closely collaborating with the FAA on all remaining efforts,” a Bell spokeswoman told AIN.