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Bell 429 to benefit from higher gross weight
The Bell 429 has received approval from Transport Canada for a 500lb increase in maximum gross weight, in a development Bell says was in response to strong customer demand.
The approval increases the maximum gross weight from 7,000 lb (3,181 kg) to 7,500 lb (3,409 kg) allowing greater range and loiter times.
'This enhancement was the result of continued requests from our customers to yield additional performance from the Bell 429,' said Larry Roberts, SVP for Bell Helicopter's commercial business.
'Our customers told us they loved all the features and performance the Bell 429 brings to bear but they wanted more range to take better advantage of the helicopter’s IFR/WAAS capabilities, allowing for a greater safety margin by ensuring the capacity for necessary fuel reserves for the growing number of operations in the IFR environment.
‘All the test data indicated that the Bell 429 would suffer no technical constraints by increasing the gross weight to 7,500 lbs. We reached out to the Bell 429’s certification authority, Transport Canada, and have been working with them for several months to validate what our data showed. After careful testing, review and evaluation Transport Canada issued the exemption approval for the gross weight increase,' Roberts added.
Bell Helicopter said it will formally petition the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for the same exemption to Part 27 with respect to the 7,000 lbs. maximum gross weight limit.
The Model 429's 7,000 lb gross weight limit has proved to be a factor in the slow take-up of the aircraft. Bell has made the increase in gross weight a top priority but development has been slowed by the need to make the changes retrofittable to the rest of the 429 fleet.
The company said it will issue the necessary changes to the flight manual to correspond with the additional weight capacity.
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