Bell Helicopter and sister company Textron Aviation are exhibiting various aircraft here at the LABACE show as they seek to penetrate deeper into the Latin American market. Bell has its 429WLG and 407GX on the static display (at Outside Exhibit 5112) along with the mockup of its new Bell 505 Jet Ranger X.

The company said that demand for the Bell 505 “is intensifying around the world, with nearly 350 letters of intent [LOI] worldwide and 35 LOI from customers throughout Brazil.” It added that there is also considerable interest in the Bell 429 with “nearly 60 aircraft performing missions in Latin America,” while the 407GX “has more than 200 aircraft in the region configured for a range of operations.”

Company representatives said that Bell entered the Latin American market “more than 60 years ago, and today [we have] an installed fleet of more than 1,680 helicopters–making it the second largest Bell Helicopter fleet in the world.”

Jay Ortiz, Bell Helicopter v-p of commercial sales in Latin America, said, “Our commitment to this market is evident by our growing local presence of personnel.” There are now more than 100 Bell Helicopter authorized customer service facilities worldwide, with two of these being located in Brazil.

Bell said the 429WLG, “delivers exceptional speed, range and hover performance combined with the added feature of retractable landing gear, which provides the capability for operations requiring ground taxiing.”

Meanwhile the Bell 407GX “provides the same excellent performance reliability characteristics of the Bell 407 with enhanced safety and situational awareness capabilities to adapt to any mission.”

Finally, it said the Bell 505 Jet Ranger X “is on a mission to redefine the short light single product class of helicopters, as illustrated by its fully integrated glass flightdeck providing unparalleled crew situational awareness, enhanced safety levels, and reduced pilot workload.”