Bell Helicopter's Jet Ranger X has received EASA certification. The model has now been certified in 11 countries. Executive VP of commercial sales and marketing Patrick Moulay says that the customer response to the helicopter has been overwhelmingly positive. “We have seen interest for the Bell 505 in a variety of mission profiles,” he tells EBAN. “Firstly, we've had enquiries from the corporate transport and tourism sector because of the low cost of operation. Another very active area is the global military training market and, finally, the utility segment is showing interest. The parapublic, police and public service sectors are also all very strong at this time.

“The Bell 505 is suited for all missions and delivers exceptional performance, so we continue to see interest from customers who want to use the aircraft to complete an assortment of missions. We have Bell 505 customers from all over the EMEA region, including the UK, Switzerland and Belgium.”

There are 5,000 Bell 206 JetRanger aircraft still flying around the world and the Bell 505 Jet Ranger X is the successor of that aircraft, so the potential market is considerable.