Thursday
July 21, 2005
Bell 210 Receives FAA Certification.
Candidate for Army's LUH Competition
Fort Worth, Texas, USA ( Bell Helicopters Press Release ) -
The Bell 210 medium transport helicopter
received its FAA Certification today following a development program that
stretched from Texas to Tennessee. Dave Downey, FAA Rotorcraft
Directorate Manager presented the aircraft's Type Certificate to Bell CEO
Mike Redenbaugh in ceremonies at company headquarters in Fort Worth.
The Bell 210, which made its first flight Dec. 18, 2004, at Bell affiliate
company Edwards & Associates, Bristol, Tenn., was also flight tested at
company facilities in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. First customer
deliveries will begin in November 2005.
"I want to congratulate the employees at Bell Helicopter, both here in Fort
Worth and those at the Edwards & Associates operation in Tennessee, whose
hard work and dedication to the Bell 210 team has led us to this day," Mr.
Redenbaugh said.
"I also want to pass on our sincere thanks to the men and women of the FAA
who have worked with our team throughout this certification program," he
added.
"The Bell 210 is the perfect solution for the many agencies that need a
medium utility helicopter such as Homeland Security, law enforcement or
firefighting, " declared Mr. Redenbaugh.
"It combines great performance with an existing logistical and support base
which customers consistently rate Number One in the industry, unbeatable
Direct Operating Costs and a tremendously low initial acquisition cost. Add
to that complete FAA certification and the Bell 210 is truly the best total
value proposition to be found in the market today," Mr. Redenbaugh
explained.
In addition to its appeal for commercial applications, the Bell 210
helicopter also satisfies the US Army's requirement for a Light Utility
Helicopter (LUH). There are many missions now supported by the Army with
assets that are marked for replacement in the LUH program that the Bell 210
could more economically perform. These Army Light Utility Helicopters would
perform future utility missions for non-combat organizations (TDA), National
Guard utility, drug interdiction efforts (RAID), MEDEVAC, and Homeland
Defense (HLD) missions.
The Bell 210 helicopter includes dynamic components from the Bell 212 (main
rotor hub and blades, tail rotor, main and tail rotor support structure,
transmission, rotating controls, and tail boom), and an FAA certified
Honeywell T-53-517BCV engine providing a zero-time FAA certified single
engine medium utility helicopter.
The Bell 210 is a commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) helicopter that will
operate for less than $650 per hour, thus allowing the Army to unburden
itself of logistics and engineering overhead management by taking advantage
of Bell's global, world-class commercial support in spares, manuals, and
technical support. This would be similar to the TH-67 program currently in
place at Ft. Rucker, Ala. The Bell 210 comes with an excellent commercial
products warranty and a significant reduction in operating costs. Cost of
the Bell 210 will be approximately $3 million. A comparable sized
off-the-shelf commercial aircraft would cost approximately $5 million.
Bell Helicopter, a subsidiary of Textron Inc., is a $1.6 billion,
leading producer of commercial and military helicopters, and the pioneer of
the revolutionary tiltrotor aircraft. Globally recognized for customer
service, innovation and superior quality, Bell's global workforce of over
7,500 employees serves customers flying Bell aircraft in over 120 countries.
Textron Inc. is a $10 billion multi-industry company with 44,000
employees in 40 countries. The company leverages its global network of
aircraft, industrial and finance businesses to provide customers with
innovative solutions and services. Textron is known around the world for its
powerful brands such as Bell Helicopter, Cessna Aircraft, Jacobsen, Kautex,
Lycoming, EZ-GO and Greenlee, among others.
news: Bell 210 Completes First Flight
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