Rumor has it that Bell will show a "stretched" version of its slow selling 427 twin at the 2004 Heli Expo in Las Vegas.
A fuselage plug has been put in behind the cockpit giving more room in the cabin and the change to an all forward facing seating arrangement.
The 427 has been a slow seller in the Gulf of Mexico, the most likely offshore market, with no operators currently signing up for the aircraft. While there was a 427 in PHI colors at the show 3 or 4 years ago, the company never took delivery of the aircraft since no flotation system had been certified.
Other light twins, like the EC135 and MD902 have also failed to penetrate the GOM market and Bell believes that this still gives them the potential of a market share when the GOM operators start to look for light twin helicopters.
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