Bell announced this week that its fleet of more than 260 in-service Model 505 Jet Ranger X light single turbine helicopters has accumulated more than 50,000 flight hours with customers in 55 countries. “This milestone represents the platform’s global growth and adoption as it enables operators to complete dynamic missions at an affordable cost,” said Bell light aircraft program director Eric Sinusas.
Bell pointed to Italy’s Elicompany, which accumulated 1,000 flight hours in the first 10 months it operated a Jet Ranger X, as an example of the model’s reliability. “We’ve experienced very low maintenance and essentially no time grounded," said Elicompany co-owner Cristian Forghieri, adding his firm to date has now logged in excess of 1,100 hours on the aircraft. "We are really happy because when we plan it, the Bell 505 can do it.”
First delivered in 2017, the five-seat 505 is powered by a dual-channel Fadec Safran Arrius 2R engine and has a cruise speed of 125 knots and 1,500 pounds of available useful load.