Bell Helicopter CEO John Garrison said that the price of the company’s new short light single (SLS) helicopter would be pegged near $1 million. Bell is expected to reveal a mock-up of its re-entry into the light single market at its booth on Tuesday at 11 a.m.
Garrison said the market for the new helicopter is “incredibly price sensitive, right around that $1 million price point.” The main competition for the SLS, the Robinson R66, is priced at $839,000 for the base helicopter. Garrison said Bell plans to bring the SLS in at that target by using proven technologies including the transmission and rotor blade system from the in-production Bell 206L4, the Garmin G1000H avionics platform similar to the one currently flying in the Bell 407GX and the Turbomeca Arrius 2R engine. Garrison reiterated that he expects the first flight of both the SLS and Bell’s larger 525 Relentless medium twin by year-end and he indicated that both programs are on track.
