Rotorcraft
Second Bell 525 FTV Flies
Collectively, the first two flight test vehicles have accumulated 78 hours.
The second Bell 525 Relentless joined the flight-test fleet on December 21.
The second Bell 525 Relentless joined the flight-test fleet on December 21.


Bell’s second super-medium 525 Relentless test aircraft took to the sky on December 21 in a 15-knot wind. Flight Test Vehicle 2 performed basic maneuvers, among them hover and hover taxiing; 360-degree pedal clearing turns; and low-speed controllability in left, right, forward and rearward flight. All of the aforementioned were flown with stability augmentation on and off. As of the middle of January the two flight-test vehicles had flown 78 hours. Three more flight-test vehicles will join the program later this year and Bell says it remains on track to certify the 525 next year. Through the end of last year the company held letters of intent from customers for 75 aircraft, the majority coming from the offshore energy services industry. Bell has yet to formally announce a price for the aircraft. 

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