Back in 2005 Bell had a mock-up on display at the CAMTS convention in Austin. We asked the Bell rep a ballpark figure for payload with a medical interior and 1.5 hrs of fuel and the confident reply was: "about 400lbs".
Also, to reply to Tcabot's: "Relative to bird strike the 429 is superior to the S-76 (PHI) where a single bird left a two pilot aircraft as nothing more than a lawn dart."
The S-76 involved in the GOM tragedy had STC plastic windshields and the investigation determined that they were a factor in the accident. So your quote is out of context.
Last edited by tottigol; 23rd Aug 2012 at 12:45.