Fort Worth, TX – June 27, 2012 – Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc. company (NYSE: TXT), announced today its upcoming participation in the Farnborough International Airshow (FIA) 2012. Bell Helicopter will provide flight demonstrations, have two state of the art commercial aircraft on display, and will showcase its mock up of the new Bell 525 Relentless super medium helicopter for the first time in Europe.
“Farnborough marks the European debut of our new Bell 525 Relentless helicopter following a successful launch in February at HeliExpo in Dallas, Texas. We are excited to give our customers in Europe the opportunity to see our mock up of this game-changing aircraft,” said John L. Garrison, President and CEO of Bell Helicopter. “We are on a mission at Bell Helicopter to enable our customers’ success by investing in new products that provide our customers innovative, reliable and affordable solutions. We win by listening to our customers’ needs and by acting upon them. The Bell 525 Relentless and the revolutionary V-22 Osprey are direct outcomes of exactly that – listening and acting.”
Bell Helicopter will have a strong presence at FIA with demonstration flights of the spacious and versatile Bell 429 in corporate configuration. In addition, a Bell 429 in Emergency Medical Services configuration and the technologically advanced Bell 407GX in corporate configuration will be on display at the trade exhibition. The highly-recognized V-22 Osprey will demonstrate its power and versatility by flying in the airshow and will be on display for visitors to get a closer look. Bell Helicopter aims to make this year’s FIA an unsurpassed event with brand new, industry-defining products.
Bell Helicopter has been growing its product line and global customer base for an energized resurgence in the commercial aviation industry, with a particular emphasis on the European market. Its dedication to customer support and services in addition to its world class aircraft sets the standard for vertical lift in 2012.
“Bell Helicopter is and will continue to be a leader in the world of aviation. Europe is mission critical region for Bell Helicopter and participating at Farnborough gives us an opportunity to talk with our customers, learn more about their plans and share our mutual goals for the future. It is an exciting time to be involved in aviation and to be a part of Bell Helicopter. We have high expectations for ourselves and the industry,” stated Danny Maldonado, Bell Helicopter’s executive vice president of Commercial Sales and Marketing.
The Farnborough International Airshow is the largest aviation show in the world. Approximately 1,400 exhibitors from the aerospace, defense, space and security industries will showcase and demonstrate aircraft, equipment and new technologies. FIA takes place bi-annually and was attended by over 120,000 trade visitors at the last show in 2010.
About the Bell 429
The Bell Helicopter 429 is one of the most advanced light twin IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) helicopters ever developed. The 429 has set the standard for light twins, delivering exceptional speed, range, hover performance and enhanced safety margins. The 429 boasts a spacious cabin with 204ft3 (5.78m3) of usable volume, optional rear clam-shell doors and seating for 7 passengers and 1 crew.
About the Bell 407GX
Built on the success of the Bell 407, the 407GX is the only helicopter equipped with the innovative Garmin G1000HTM integrated glass flight deck, making it the most advanced light, single-engine rotorcraft on the market. The Garmin G1000H enhances mission awareness with HTAWS, TIS, moving map display and Garmin’s Helicopter Synthetic Vision Technology (HSV).
About the V-22 Osprey Program
The V-22 Osprey is a joint service, multirole combat aircraft that uses tiltrotor technology to combine the vertical performance of a helicopter with the speed and range of a fixed-wing aircraft. With its nacelles and rotors in vertical position, it can take off, land and hover like a helicopter. Once airborne, its nacelles can be rotated to transition the aircraft to a turboprop airplane capable of high-speed, high-altitude flight.
More than 160 Osprey tiltrotors are currently in operation and the worldwide fleet has amassed more than 130,000 flight hours, with nearly half of those hours logged in the past two years.
Safety, survivability and mission efficiency have become hallmarks of the operational fleet. According to Naval Safety Center records, the MV-22 has the lowest Class A mishap rate of any tactical rotorcraft in the Marine Corps during the past decade. Navy flight-hour cost data also show that the Osprey has the lowest cost per seat-mile (cost to transport one person over a distance of one mile) of any U.S. naval transport rotorcraft over the past two years.
About Bell Helicopter
Bell Helicopter, a wholly owned subsidiary of Textron Inc., is an industry-leading producer of commercial and military, manned and unmanned vertical-lift aircraft and the pioneer of the revolutionary tiltrotor aircraft. Globally recognized for world-class customer service, innovation and superior quality, Bell’s global workforce serves customers flying Bell aircraft in more than 120 countries.
About Textron Inc. Textron Inc. is a multi-industry company that leverages its global network of aircraft, defense, 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 Company, Jacobsen, Kautex, Lycoming, E-Z-GO, Greenlee, and Textron Systems. More information is available at www.textron.com.
