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KIDL brings first Bell 505 to Kenya
Executive transport operator KIDL Helicopters has taken delivery of Kenya's first Bell 505. Shipped from Canada and reassembled locally, the helicopter has entered service in Nairobi.
Captain Marco Brighetti, left, piloted the Bell 505 to its base in Nairobi.
Read this story in our October 2018 printed issue.

Kenya's KIDL Helicopters has taken delivery of a Bell 505 to supplement its previously all-Airbus fleet of H125, H130 and H145 types. The company provides mountain rescue, executive transport, luxury safaris, wildlife monitoring, photography, search missions and survey services throughout East Africa.

The aircraft was shipped from Bell's facility in Mirabel, Canada, to Africair Helicopter Support Limited (AHSL), a newly-established Kenya Civil Aviation Authority authorised maintenance organisation, where the aircraft was re-assembled. This Bell 505 was the first work in the facility located in Ruiru, just outside Nairobi.

It was then flown by KIDL CEO Captain Marco Brighetti to Wilson Airport in Nairobi to begin VIP transport operations.

Bell Helicopter has delivered a hundred 505 Jet Ranger X models around the world that are being used for many different missions, and this latest is the first in Kenya.

Other News
 
RAS takes on Bell 505 dealership for the Netherlands
November 13, 2024
RAS has been a partner to Bell for the past four years in providing German operators with the 505. It has expanded the Bell footprint in the German market and will now grow the presence in the Netherlands.
UK buyer takes Europe’s 100th Bell 505
November 6, 2024
The 505 has been a popular choice among Europe’s operators and this 100th unit goes to a private operator in the UK.
Heli Service purchases third Bell 505
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At the recent Japan Aerospace International Exhibition 2024, Bell Textron sold one Bell 505 to Heli Service Co, an operator in Japan.