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The facility is expected to create 115 new jobs
in
Lafayette, and LED
estimates the aerospace project will result in
an additional 136 jobs, for a total of more than
250 new jobs in Acadiana.
To date, Bell Helicopter has received more than
200 purchase agreements for the
Bell
505. The five-seat, single-engine, turbine
helicopter leverages Bell Helicopter’s proven
technology and nearly half a century of
experience defining the short light single
market with the original Bell JetRanger.
Assembly of the first Bell
505 test aircraft is progressing at Bell
Helicopter’s commercial assembly facility in
Mirabel, Canada, and first flight is expected
to take place by the end of 2014. Type
Certificate activities with Transport
Canada
and Production Certification activities with the
Federal Aviation Administration are also
underway.
With a cruise speed of 125 knots (232 km/h),
range of 360 nautical miles (667 km) and useful
load of 1,500 pounds (608 kg), the
Bell 505 is designed to
be safe and easy to fly while remaining
affordably priced. The Garmin G1000H Integrated
Avionics Suite provides pilots critical flight
information at a glance to maximize situational
awareness. Pilot workload is further reduced by
the Turbomeca Arrius 2R engine with dual channel
Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC).
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