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The Bell 429 GlobalRanger is a light, twin-engine helicopter developed by
Bell Helicopter Bell Textron Inc. is an American aerospace manufacturer headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. A subsidiary of Textron, Bell manufactures military rotorcraft at facilities in Fort Worth, and Amarillo, Texas, as well as commercial helicopters in M ...
and Korea Aerospace Industries. First flight of the Bell 429 prototype took place on February 27, 2007,"Bell Flies 429, Stretches Program"
''Rotor & Wing'', April 2007.
and the aircraft received type certification on July 1, 2009."Bell 429 Achieves Certification"
. Bell Helicopter, July 1, 2009.
The Bell 429 is capable of single-pilot IFR and Runway Category A operations.


Development

The impetus for developing the Bell 429 came primarily from the
emergency medical services Emergency medical services (EMS), also known as ambulance services or paramedic services, are emergency services that provide urgent pre-hospital treatment and stabilisation for serious illness and injuries and transport to definitive care. ...
(EMS) industry. The
Bell 427 The Bell 427 is a twin-engine, multirole, light utility helicopter designed and manufactured by Bell Helicopter and Samsung Aerospace Industries. It has been replaced in production by the larger Bell 429. Development Bell has tried several in ...
was originally intended to address this market, but the 427's small cabin size would not adequately accommodate a patient litter,"Light Twin, Big Cabin",
Aviation Week & Space Technology ''Aviation Week & Space Technology'', often abbreviated ''Aviation Week'' or ''AW&ST'', is the flagship magazine of the Aviation Week Network. The weekly magazine is available in print and online, reporting on the aerospace, defense and aviatio ...
170, 26 (June 29, 2009), p. 42.
and the systems did not support
instrument flight rules In aviation, instrument flight rules (IFR) is one of two sets of regulations governing all aspects of civil aviation aircraft operations; the other is visual flight rules (VFR). The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) ''Instrument F ...
(IFR) certification. Bell's original concept for the 429 was a stretched model 427Croft, John
"Bell Canada: composites not a grey area"
''Flight International'', June 12, 2009.
(unveiled as the Bell 427s3i at the 2004 HAI helicopter show), but this still did not provide what Bell and its customer advisers were looking for. Bell abandoned the 427 airframe and went to its MAPL (Modular Affordable Product Line) concept airframe that was still in conceptual development at the time. The 429 employs the all-new modular airframe concept and the advanced rotor blade design from the MAPL program, but maintains a derivative engine and rotor drive system from the 427. The basic model includes a glass cockpit and is certified for single pilot IFR. Bell partnered with Korea Aerospace Industries and Mitsui Bussan Aerospace of Japan in the helicopter's development. Bell had flown most of the critical MAPL technology components, using a 427 testbed aircraft, by February 2006. The first completed 429 flew on February 27, 2007. Certification was originally planned for late 2007, but program schedule delays, primarily caused by parts and material shortages common to all aviation manufacturers in that time period, caused the manufacturer to stretch the development timetable. In October 2007 the external configuration was set. In February 2008, Bell had three 429s in flight testing that had completed 600 flight hours. The 429 conducted its high-altitude testing in Colorado and its high-temperature testing in Arizona. The helicopter received type certification from
Transport Canada Transport Canada (french: Transports Canada) is the department within the Government of Canada responsible for developing regulations, policies and services of road, rail, marine and air transportation in Canada. It is part of the Transporta ...
Civil Aviation (TCCA) on July 1, 2009, and from the
Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic ...
(FAA) by July 7, 2009. EASA certification was announced at Helitech on September 24, 2009. TCCA and authorities in some other countries later approved an increased weight exemption for the aircraft. However, FAA and EASA disagreed with the weight exemption, which had allowed the 429 to operate for the Canadian Coast Guard. As of June 2009, the Bell 429 had received over 301 letters of intent.Croft, John
"Bell: certification imminent for Bell 429 rotor rocket"
''Flight Daily News'', June 15, 2009.
The launch customer for the Bell 429 was Air Methods Corporation, the largest
medevac Medical evacuation, often shortened to medevac or medivac, is the timely and efficient movement and en route care provided by medical personnel to wounded being evacuated from a battlefield, to injured patients being evacuated from the scene of a ...
provider in the United States, which took one helicopter. On July 7, 2009, this aircraft (s/n 57006) was delivered to Air Methods (owner) and
MercyOne MercyOne (formerly Mercy Health Network) is a system of hospitals, clinics, and health care facilities in the U.S. states of Iowa, Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dak ...
(operator) at Bell's facility in Mirabel, Quebec.


Design

The Bell 429 has a four-blade rotor system with soft-in-plane flex beams. The rotor blades are composite and have swept tips for reduced noise. The tail rotor is made by stacking two, two-blade rotors set at uneven intervals (to form an X) for reduced noise. The combined cabin volume is 204 cu ft (5.78 m3) with a passenger cabin and baggage area, with a flat floor for patient loading. A set of rear clamshell doors under the tailboom is optional for easier patient loading in EMS operations. The 429 has a
glass cockpit A glass cockpit is an aircraft cockpit that features electronic (digital) flight instrument displays, typically large LCD screens, rather than the traditional style of analog dials and gauges. While a traditional cockpit relies on numerous ...
with a three-axis
autopilot An autopilot is a system used to control the path of an aircraft, marine craft or spacecraft without requiring constant manual control by a human operator. Autopilots do not replace human operators. Instead, the autopilot assists the operator' ...
(optional fourth axis kit) and flight director as standard. Standard
landing gear Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for takeoff or landing. For aircraft it is generally needed for both. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, such as the Glenn L. Mart ...
are skids. A retractable wheel landing gear is optional and adds five knots to cruising speed. The helicopter is a single-pilot IFR Category A helicopter. It is capable of operating with one engine inoperative. The main transmission is rated for 5,000 hours between overhauls and the tail rotor gearbox is rated for 3,200 hours.


Operational history

By July 2018, 325 aircraft had operated 330,000 hours for police forces, air medical teams and militaries in 42 countries, including Australia, France, Indonesia, Kuwait, Oman, Switzerland, Slovakia, Sweden, Turkey, Thailand, the United States and the United Kingdom.


Operators


Military and government operators

; *
Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister o ...
**
723 Squadron RAN 723 Squadron is a Royal Australian Navy Fleet Air Arm squadron. The squadron was first raised in 1952 and throughout its history has served operationally during the Vietnam War, the Gulf War and in East Timor. It currently operates as a helicopter ...
- 3 ; *
Canadian Coast Guard The Canadian Coast Guard (CCG; french: links=no, Garde côtière canadienne, GCC) is the coast guard of Canada. Formed in 1962, the coast guard is tasked with marine search and rescue (SAR), communication, navigation, and transportation issues ...
- 16 ; *
Indonesian National Police '' , mottotranslated = (Serving the Nation) , formed = , preceding1 = , dissolved = , superseding = , employees = 440,000 (2020) , volunteers = , budget = , nongovernment ...
** - 2 ; *
Jamaica Defence Force The Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) is the combined military of Jamaica, consisting of an infantry Regiment and Reserve Corps, an Air Wing, a Coast Guard fleet and a supporting Engineering Unit. The JDF is based upon the British military model, with ...
- 5 ; *
New Zealand Police The New Zealand Police ( mi, Ngā Pirihimana o Aotearoa) is the national police service and principal law enforcement agency of New Zealand, responsible for preventing crime, enhancing public safety, bringing offenders to justice, and maintaini ...
- 3 ; *
Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...
- 5 ; *
Philippine National Police The Philippine National Police ( fil, Pambansang Pulisya ng Pilipinas, acronymed as PNP) is the armed national police force in the Philippines. Its national headquarters is located at Camp Crame in Bagong Lipunan ng Crame, Quezon City. Currentl ...
- 3 1 lost in crash in 2020 ; * Slovak Police Force - 4 (one crashed) ; *
Swedish Police Authority The Swedish Police Authority ( sv, Polismyndigheten) is the national police force (''Polisen'') of the Kingdom of Sweden. The first modern police force in Sweden was established in the mid-19th century, and the police remained in effect under lo ...
- 9 (7 ordered in 2014 and 2 in 2018) ; *
Royal Thai Police The Royal Thai Police (RTP) ( th, สำนักงานตำรวจแห่งชาติ; ) is the national police force of Thailand. The RTP employs between 210,700 and 230,000 officers, roughly 17 percent of all civil servants (excludi ...
- 6 ; * * General Directorate of Security ; * Wiltshire Air Ambulance - 1 ; *
Delaware State Police The Delaware State Police (DSP) is a division of the Delaware Department of Public Safety and Homeland Security and is responsible for traffic regulation and law enforcement across the state of Delaware, especially in areas underserved by local ...
- 4 *
Fairfax County Police Department The Fairfax County Police Department (FCPD) is a full-service law enforcement agency, located in Northern Virginia. The FCPD services a population of 1,081,726 residents within of Fairfax County, Virginia. The stated mission of the department i ...
- 2 *
New York City Police Department The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act i ...
- 1 *
Arizona Department of Public Safety The Arizona Department of Public Safety (AZDPS) is a state-level law enforcement agency with a primary function of patrolling and enforcing state laws on Arizona highways. Director Heston Silbert was promoted from Deputy Director to Director in ...
- 1 *
Puerto Rico Department of Health The Puerto Rico Department of Health (PRDOH) is one of the Cabinet-level agencies directly created by Article 4, Section 6 of the Constitution of Puerto Rico. It is headed by a Secretary of Health, appointed by the Governor of Puerto Rico and req ...
- 1 ; * Tunisian National Guard - 3


Specifications (Bell 429)


See also


References


External links


Bell Textron 429 official web page
{{ADF aircraft designations 2000s Canadian helicopters 2000s Canadian civil utility aircraft
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Twin-turbine helicopters Aircraft first flown in 2007