Pilot Report
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PILOT REPORT The twin-turbine 429 lifts off the ground Bell 429 Specifications and Performance “wings level” and just slightly nose up. Goal Actual Max takeoff weight 7,000 lb 7,000 lb Empty weight 4,300 lb 4,410 lb Useful load 2,700 lb 2,590 lb Max cruise speed w. skids 142 kt 150 kt (mtow, SL, ISA) Max speed (Vne) n/a 155 kt Long-range cruise speed n/a 130 kt Max operating altitude 20,000 ft 20,000 ft Hover out of ground effect 9,300 ft 11,280 ft (mtow, TOP, ISA) Hover in ground effect 12,000 ft 14,130 ft (mtow, ISA) Range 350 nm 368 nm (mtow, SL, ISA) U E I L U Endurance with IFR reserve A E 2.25 hr 2.26 hr B (mtow, SL, ISA) S E V Y Direct operating costs : S $667 $664 O (Fuel $3/gal, labor $75/hr) T O H P Price $3.95 million* $4.865 million** delayed certification of the 429 *Goal price when 429 announced at Heli-Expo in February 2005. ** Actual/current price in 2007 dollars. Bell Helicopter plans to announce a revised price after has been a talking point for the model receives its type certificate. the last year or so. We wanted to hit the mark with this aircraft–to with room for two patients on 427’s 102-cu-ft cabin. Regarding under-promise and over-deliver– stretchers and two attendants. price, Marshall said, “The 429’s Bell 429 and I think the only area we Company executives looked to price is just slightly higher than missed was the schedule. It has the MAPL research team for a that of the EC 135 and much less Bell’s new light twin taken a bit longer than expected.” solution and found the modular than the 145’s and 109’s pricing.” By the end of this year, Bell cabin design well into develop- Useful load of the 429 when nears FAA certification expects to deliver eight to ten ment. That led to a decision to certified will be 2,590 pounds, by R. Randall Padfield 429s and have three or four in scrap plans for the 427i, which though Bell expects to increase customer service. The first air- would have brought some of this to 2,640 pounds. Eurocopter By the time you read this, it company brought to the Paris Air craft will be going to U.S. airmed the above improvements to the reports the useful loads for the is likely that Bell Helicopter will Show last month to fly in the operator Air Methods, which will 427 design. (Production of the 427 EC 135 and 145 as 3,208 pounds have received Transport Canada daily flight display and provide fly the helicopter for an undis- will end later this year as 429 and 3,953 pounds, respectively. type certification for its twin- more demonstration flights. This closed hospital. Ramping up to a deliveries increase.) Marshall explained that the 429’s turbine Bell 429 light helicopter. “mostly production aircraft” will full production rate of 96 in 2012, Though the Bell 429 is being useful load includes the weight of Though not quite as likely, the eventually be sold to a customer. Bell is planning some 40 deliver- certified as a light helicopter equipment for single-pilot IFR, FAA might also have validated The 429’s flight-test program ies next year and 70 to 80 in under FAR Part 27 (which limits two pilot seats, six passenger Transport Canada’s TC, since the has accumulated more than 1,800 2011, Marshall said. mtow to 7,000 pounds), Bell seats and a standard interior, U.S. agency has been following hours using two prototypes and contends that its cabin is closer while the Eurocopter numbers the process closely. The European three pre-production aircraft since A Brand-new Design in size to that of an 8,000- do not. He said, “We have estab- Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) the first prototype flew on Feb. While the 429’s resemblance to 9,000-pound intermediate-size lished that the EC 135 has about is expected to add its own vali- 27, 2006. When Bell announced to its Bell 206 JetRanger heritage helicopter, which would be certi- 120 pounds more useful load today dation a few weeks later, after the 429 in February 2005 at is unmistakable, Bell officials fied under Part 29. “We see the than the 429, when compared EASA pilots do their own certifi- Heli-Expo in Anaheim, Calif., insist “the 429 is essentially 429’s cabin size as comparable to apples-to-apples. But the 429 has cation flight testing. the company estimated it would brand new.” Conceptual work the [Eurocopter] EC 145’s and greater speed, hover performance, Anticipating the imminence of receive Transport Canada and on the 429 began in 2003 after about 30 percent larger than the fuel capacity and range.” He also type certification, Bell Helicopter FAA certification in the first Bell accepted that its twin-tur- EC 135’s and [Agusta] A109’s said the 429 already meets most invited four aviation journalists to quarter of 2007 and begin first bine, dual-pilot IFR Bell 427, cabins,” Marshall said. While Part 29 requirements, simplifying its assembly facility in Mirabel, deliveries later that year. As Neil certified in 1999, did not meet the various factors make precise certification of future, heavier Quebec, in May for Bell 429 brief- Marshall, Bell Helicopter pro- needs of air medical operators, comparisons of these helicopters’ derivatives. Currently, the aircraft ings and demonstration flights. gram director for the Model 429 who wanted single-pilot IFR cabin volumes difficult, there’s no seats a maximum of six in the The flights took place in Bell 429 and MAPL (modular affordable capability, better performance doubt the 429’s 204-cu-ft cabin cabin and two in the cockpit. S/N 57002 (C-FTNB), which the product line), explained, “The and a flat-floored, open cabin is a huge improvement over the The 429’s flat floor and wide-open cabin (an aluminum sub-structure with graphite skins) provide mission flexibility un- matched in previous Bell light helicopters. Engineers opened up the space by eliminating the verti- cal structure behind the cockpit seats (the “broom closet” that holds the flight-control rods in earlier Bells) by routing the control rods Bell test pilot Leo Meslin (left seat) describes the 429’s cockpit to the author. Three large Rogerson Kratos displays, a Garmin 530 and a Garmin 430 dominate the instrument panel. 56aaAviation International News • July 2009 • www.ainonline.com Flying the Bell 429 S/N 57002 for the main rotor up the sides of the fuselage behind the cockpit Bell experimental test pilot Leopold Though it won’t be available until post-certi- cation of the stability of the 429. The stabil- doors, and by changing the direc- Meslin demonstrated the preflight walkaround fication, the system includes a page that ity control augmentation system (SCAS) tional-control rods to push-pull of the Bell 429, which is straightforward. allows the pilot to input weights and dampens external and internal (pilot-induced) cables and directing them from Most checklist items are visible from the then automatically calculates weight-and- turbulence, giving the helicopter the feel the tail-rotor pedals up through ground and there are viewing ports for oil balance. A standard I/O bus is available of a much larger and heavier machine. the post in the center of the levels so that no panels require opening. for easy up- and downloading to aircraft The 429 lifts off the ground almost skids windshield. While Part 27 does Steps and handholds integrated into the maintenance computers. This aircraft also level, just slightly nose high and with not call for compliance with the fuselage allow inspection of the upper features a Garmin 530 and a 430, instead of no discernible latitudinal preference. Solid birdstrike requirements of Part section and rotor head without a ladder. the standard two 430s. It is equipped with a control and stability while hovering and in 29, at the request of the FAA The real action starts in the cockpit. The four-axis Sagem autopilot in place of the sideward and backward flight made my lack Bell demonstrated by analysis 16.5-inch pilots’ seats are adjustable fore standard three-axis autopilot. of recent helicopter time irrelevant. (though not testing) that the and aft and include an adjustable lumbar Probably the single most important feature Meslin described the standard takeoff windshield center post would cushion. The right seat put me in perfect of the MFD for pilots is the power situation from a hover as a level acceleration past 25 resist a strike by a “spec-size” position to the controls and I was comfort- indicator, or PSI, which provides a measure knots and a climb at 60 knots (Vy). For cate- bird and that no unsafe condition able during the 90 minutes or so that I of torque (Tq), gas-producer rpm (N1) and gory A takeoffs Vtoss is 45 knots. Normal would result, such as loss of occupied the seat, though I was grateful measured gas temperature (MGT). The indi- speed on downwind is 120 knots, approach directional or engine control I could adjust the lumbar cushion about cator shows both a numeric readout and a speed 60 knots and normal landing descent (since the engine N1 cables are halfway through the flight. digital version of a “steam gauge” dial dis- angle from 5 to 8 degrees.