Bell Helicopters is to work with Latin American operator Omni to operationally flight test its 525 helicopter in Georgetown, Guyana.
The offshore operational evaluation program will last six months with around 500 hours of flying time planned and will take place after the Bell 525 is type-certified by the FAA. Type certification for the 525 has slipped, but is expected this year according to media reports.
The flights will be operated offshore from Georgetown, Guyana, loaded to representative mission weights and fully integrated into Omni’s daily flight planning and flight scheduling. The helicopter will visit different offshore installations and be loaded, unloaded, and refueled routinely to subject it to a sustained trial under actual field conditions.
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 Relentless is a fly-by-wire super medium-lift helicopter first revealed in 2012 with the oil and gas and defence sectors in mind. The aircraft can carry up to 19 passengers, has a maximum speed of 190 mph (306 km/h), and a range of 644 mi (1,037km).
Danny Maldonado, chief commercial officer at Bell, said, “We’re honored to be working with Omni to leverage the advanced technology the Bell 525 aircraft will bring to the industry. This program will enable the Bell 525 to demonstrate its performance, capabilities and reliability as the ideal offshore aircraft.
Duncan Moore, group chief operating officer at Omni said, “We’re thrilled to have devised this innovative and industry-leading program with Bell, 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,”
“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.”
Omni normally operates around 200 flights per month. The 525 will undertake the same sequences of flights as the live operational fleet in Guyana, exposing it to the intensity and pressures of live commercial line operations.
