Bell 505 owner Jules Mountain has found the aircraft invaluable during 2020 exploration missions. Mountain, who leases a Bell 505, typically logs between 100 and 200 hours of flying per year. Most of this flying time is to and from business meetings across the UK and Europe, and he admits that having a helicopter has made his life much easier.

“It's helped so much in terms of work,” he explains. “If I fly myself somewhere, I don't have to get on a plane and risk losing any time due to delays. The Bell 505 shrinks the map, allowing me to get to where I need to be when I need to be there.”

One of his most recent Bell 505 journeys was somewhat more adventurous than his average commute. The intrepid flier decided to fly a Bell 505 across the Atlantic to get home. With some unique modifications, he took off last summer from Bell's facility in Mirabel, Canada and took in Greenland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands and Guernsey before arriving back in the UK after an epic seven days of flying.

“You've got sea fog to contend with, and the weather is so inconsistent when you're that far north. At times, the temperatures were reaching -14 degrees for two hour stretches. 450 miles is a long way to fly a helicopter over water in one go. That said, the Bell 505 performed beautifully throughout and never missed a beat. The power and lift of the thing is immense. And what could be better than seeing the world from 1,000 ft for seven days, experiencing things like landing on the polar ice cap and meeting fascinating people.”