Bell 429
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 72
Likes: 0
From: Pennsylvania, USA
From the Bell website:
http://www.bellhelicopter.com/en/com...9RapidPace.cfm
http://www.bellhelicopter.com/en/com...29rotor1st.cfm
Looks like Big Mike summed it up well. Concept demonstrator has flown with the rotor system and other component development tests have been conducted. First full test aircraft to fly later this year according to the press release.
http://www.bellhelicopter.com/en/com...9RapidPace.cfm
http://www.bellhelicopter.com/en/com...29rotor1st.cfm
Looks like Big Mike summed it up well. Concept demonstrator has flown with the rotor system and other component development tests have been conducted. First full test aircraft to fly later this year according to the press release.
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 103
Likes: 0
From: Lost in thought
Bell 429 continues to impress in flight test.
For those nay-sayers who claimed Bell's 429 first flight was only for show... Not only is she continuing test ... but she reached over 150 knots today.... Very smooth I'm told.
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 80
Likes: 0
From: Germany
Bell invites media for "inaugural flight of 429" - which occurred last month, we thought
Well, this one had the Rotorhub.com team scratching their heads! Bell Canada has issued media invitations to "the inaugural flight of the new GLOBAL RANGER 429, first model from the highly innovative MAPL series." - today 1.15pm at Mirabel.
Given that the first flight happened just a few days before Heli-Expo opened, on 27th February to be exact, we can only assume that "inaugural" has a different meaning in this context to what we are used to...
Perhaps this will be the event that prompts Bell to issue the first official photos of the 429 prototype? Thanks to the internet, photos of that have been circulating already - Bell's French distributor Rotor International, for example, quite happy to put photos on their website in recent days/weeks:-
Well, this one had the Rotorhub.com team scratching their heads! Bell Canada has issued media invitations to "the inaugural flight of the new GLOBAL RANGER 429, first model from the highly innovative MAPL series." - today 1.15pm at Mirabel.
Given that the first flight happened just a few days before Heli-Expo opened, on 27th February to be exact, we can only assume that "inaugural" has a different meaning in this context to what we are used to...
Perhaps this will be the event that prompts Bell to issue the first official photos of the 429 prototype? Thanks to the internet, photos of that have been circulating already - Bell's French distributor Rotor International, for example, quite happy to put photos on their website in recent days/weeks:-
- 8th February - pushing the prototype out of the hangar for the first time
- 27th February - first flight.
Photo Source: Helimat
I find it a bit peculiar that two independent websites in France have more information about the first prototype getting airborne on their websites than Bell Helicopters has on its official Bell website...
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
From: L/D Max
Where was the 429 @ HAI?
Does anyone know why the 429 moc up was absent from HAI in Orlando?
The Bell booth was looking a bit sparse with two 407 on the big floor, definitly not a confidence builder for potential buyers.
The Bell booth was looking a bit sparse with two 407 on the big floor, definitly not a confidence builder for potential buyers.
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 472
Likes: 0
From: South of the North Pole
One can only assume that the "stop and think again" order on the ARH is giving the PR guys something to think about this week. But that said, the 429 first flight and 417 cancellation never appeared at Heli-Expo as releases.....
And those photos on Helimat site are NOT copyright Helimat but copyright Rotor International and/or their employee Yves-Armel Collinot - check the text at the bottom of this page and you will see what I mean
And those photos on Helimat site are NOT copyright Helimat but copyright Rotor International and/or their employee Yves-Armel Collinot - check the text at the bottom of this page and you will see what I mean
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 1,187
Likes: 16
From: Waltham Abbey, Essex, UK
The first flight of the 429 and the demise of the 417 may not have hit a conventional paper release from Bell but they were announced by company representatives at the company press conference on February 28 and effectively first appeared in paper form in the Show Dailies.
Perhaps this latest announcement is the Bell PR Dept realising that the paper trail was missing something!
Perhaps this latest announcement is the Bell PR Dept realising that the paper trail was missing something!
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 80
Likes: 0
From: Germany
Originally Posted by ppheli
And those photos on Helimat site are NOT copyright Helimat but copyright Rotor International and/or their employee Yves-Armel Collinot - check the text at the bottom of this page and you will see what I mean
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 128
Likes: 7
From: Melbourne, Australia
Every day last week at the Avalon Airshow I've been having a quiet smoke round the back of the expo next to a very large wooden box stencilled "Bell 429, This Way UP"........It doesn't take much to amuse me these days.
I could see there was a helicopter in there but it never came out of the box! I did wonder, as the temperature hit 35 on Thursday, whether perhaps they'd brought it over for early does-it-melt-in-a-box trials.
Anybody think of a good reason why you would ship a helicopter 8,000 miles and not at least show it some Australian sunshine? Seems a bit cruel to me.
I could see there was a helicopter in there but it never came out of the box! I did wonder, as the temperature hit 35 on Thursday, whether perhaps they'd brought it over for early does-it-melt-in-a-box trials.
Anybody think of a good reason why you would ship a helicopter 8,000 miles and not at least show it some Australian sunshine? Seems a bit cruel to me.
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 151
Likes: 0
From: Indianapolis, IN, USA
Bell 429 GlobalRanger certification delayed until 2009
Disappointing news - it looks like the GlobalRanger has slipped by another year. Something must have cropped up over the last 4 months, since the Bell Helicopter team at HAI was gung-ho about delivering the first ship by the end of the year.
Bell Helicopter Concludes Successful Farnborough
Monday, July 21, 2008 / Bell Helicopter
Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, wrapped up a successful Farnborough Air Show this week by adding 24 orders across the full range of its product line as it hosted over 1,000 guests in its new chalet.
"Without exception Bell sees significant demand for our products and our recent product line rationalization continues to resonate with our customers," said Bob Fitzpatrick, Bell's senior vice president marketing and sales.
"The 412 led the way this year at Farnborough as we increased our funded backlog to new heights. Customers recognize the strengths each of our products bring to their market segments and value the Bell support that comes with those products." said Danny Maldonado, vice president of commercial business development.
During Farnborough Bell continued to receive positive product reviews of the 429 as the backlog swelled to over 300. Customer anticipation is building as the company anticipates achieving certification in early 2009.
Bell Helicopter Concludes Successful Farnborough
Monday, July 21, 2008 / Bell Helicopter
Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, wrapped up a successful Farnborough Air Show this week by adding 24 orders across the full range of its product line as it hosted over 1,000 guests in its new chalet.
"Without exception Bell sees significant demand for our products and our recent product line rationalization continues to resonate with our customers," said Bob Fitzpatrick, Bell's senior vice president marketing and sales.
"The 412 led the way this year at Farnborough as we increased our funded backlog to new heights. Customers recognize the strengths each of our products bring to their market segments and value the Bell support that comes with those products." said Danny Maldonado, vice president of commercial business development.
During Farnborough Bell continued to receive positive product reviews of the 429 as the backlog swelled to over 300. Customer anticipation is building as the company anticipates achieving certification in early 2009.
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 1,187
Likes: 16
From: Waltham Abbey, Essex, UK
Yes it is late... but ...
The certification spoken of may be EASA Certification bearing in mind that the news related to an EASA area show. That still shows a slight slip from December but fits in with statements made to the press in Prague during May.
The certification spoken of may be EASA Certification bearing in mind that the news related to an EASA area show. That still shows a slight slip from December but fits in with statements made to the press in Prague during May.