Omni Helicopters International Group of Latin America has entered into a joint offshore operational evaluation programme with Bell Textron, involving the Bell 525 helicopter. Type certification is pending at Omni's high-tempo operation in Georgetown, Guyana.

Once certification is achieved, Bell will operate the 525 in collaboration with Omni to undertake a programme of offshore mission flights. The helicopter will be loaded to representative mission weights and will be fully integrated into the daily flight planning processes and flight schedule. The helicopter will visit multiple offshore installations in the region and will be loaded, unloaded and refuelled routinely to subject it to a sustained trial under actual field conditions.

“We're thrilled to have devised this innovative and industry leading programme with Bell,” says Duncan Moore, Group COO at OHI. “Omni is a company that embraces innovation and solves challenges for our customers, and one such challenge facing us is the selection of a future helicopter for medium and long-range offshore missions,” Moore continued. “We're confident that the Bell 525 will prove itself in this space, and Omni is delighted to facilitate the opportunity in the highly representative Guyana mission environment. We're also delighted for our team and the wider aviation community in Guyana, who will be amongst the first to get exposure to this next generation aircraft.”

“We're honoured to be working with Omni to leverage the advanced technology the Bell 525 aircraft will bring to the industry. This programme will enable the Bell 525 to demonstrate its performance, capabilities and reliability as the ideal offshore aircraft,” adds Danny Maldonado, chief commercial officer, Bell. “The Bell 525 was designed for offshore operations in the oil and gas market, and we're thrilled to embark on this endeavour to showcase its revolutionary capabilities to the industry.”

The operational evaluation will see Bell fly the 525 integrated with the 200 flight per month Omni flying programme. Loaded to representative operating weights, the aircraft will undertake the exact same sequences of flights as the live operational fleet in Guyana, exposing it to the intensity and pressures of live commercial line operations. Special focus will be placed on operational resilience, supply chain robustness and durability when exposed to frequent ground handling activity, both on and offshore. The Bell 525 continues to progress toward FAA certification.

Around 500 hours of flying is planned over a six-month programme.