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Old 8th February 2005 | 17:10
  #7 (permalink)  
Shawn Coyle
 
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 1,835
Likes: 3
From: Philadelphia PA
I am well versed in the Bell 407 / 427 and their issues, and was very impressed by the 429.
Wheels as an option. Skids appeared to be more substantial than the 427.
No fuel in the cabin!
Low floor for loading patients / passengers.
Adjustable seats for the pilots.
Sliding glare shield for the flight instruments.
Cabin is larger than the A109, according to the Bell folks. Option for clamshell doors.
Yes, the tail rotor is in low, but they may listen to more input and put a ringfin on it, or something like it.
It appears they are still in the input mode - I know they had at least two design-type engineers there and they were asking questions as opposed to 'how do you like it?'.
They have made (finally) a bold step.
New rotor blades so it should have better high altitude performance.
But we'll see what the final result is soon.
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