By Skies Magazine | May 25, 2016 Estimated reading time 4 minutes, 39 seconds.
Bell said the relocation of the 505 final assembly line was effective immediately, and that it expected the certification schedules of the 505 and 525 to remain unchanged. Bell Helicopter Photo
Bell Helicopter is moving its final assembly line for the Bell 505 Jet Ranger X from Lafayette, Louisiana, to its facility in Mirabel, Quebec, with Lafayette receiving two other programs in replacement. The news, announced Thursday afternoon at the Mirabel plant, appears to secure the future for Bell’s northern workforce, which has endured several rounds of redundancies over the past few years that have reduced staffing numbers to less than half their peak of about 2,000.
It also marks a dramatic change of direction for the Lafayette facility, which was created specifically to house the 505’s final assembly line and only held its grand opening in August last year. The 82,300-square-foot, $26.3 million facility was expected to create 115 jobs at full capacity, with deliveries of the first 505s set to begin soon after the aircraft achieved certification later this year. However, it will now be home to the Bell 525 Relentless cabin subassembly, which is relocating from Bell’s Amarillo, Texas, facility, and modification work on the Northrop Grumman MQ-8C Fire Scout unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), which is relocating from the Bell’s facility in Ozark, Alabama.
“The relocation of these programs will enable the company to optimize its manufacturing footprint across multiple sites, while maximizing the core capabilities of each facility,” said president and CEO of Bell Helicopter Mitch Snyder. “Mirabel is a vital part of Bell Helicopter’s long term growth strategy and this move confirms our commitment to our Mirabel workforce and infrastructure. We also remain committed to Louisiana, where we have received tremendous support from the state and local government.”
Bell said the relocation of the 505 final assembly line was effective immediately, and that it expected the certification schedules of the 505 and 525 to remain unchanged.
Bell built the first three Bell 505 flight test vehicles at the Mirabel facility and is working closely with Transport Canada to achieve type certification and production certification this year. Once certification is complete, Bell will begin production and deliveries out of the Mirabel facility.
“Today’s announcement is a good news story of jobs and future growth in the Canadian aerospace sector and of an innovative R&D legacy that will last far beyond the manufacture of this helicopter,” said Navdeep Bains, Canada’s Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development.
The 505 flight test vehicles have now accumulated more than 700 flight test hours between them. To date, Bell has received more than 380 letters of intent for the five-seat single-engine aircraft, which is powered by the Turbomeca Arrius 2R.
The fly-by-wire 525 is also progressing through flight tests, with the first prototype taking flight in July 2015, followed by the second prototype in December. The 20,000-pound gross weight class helicopter offers a standard seating configuration for 16 passengers and two pilots, and a typical cruise speed in the 155-knot realm for distances of over 500 nautical miles. Certification of the aircraft is anticipated in 2017.
The Fire Scout is a fully autonomous tactical intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance system. The MQ-8C provides the U.S. Navy with twice the endurance and three times more payload capacity than the existing MQ-8B variant, and provides critical mission support capabilities not achievable with fixed-wing UAVs.
“We’re excited to see the first 525 cabin subassembly and work on the MQ-8C Fire Scout coming to the facility built for Bell Helicopter’s Louisiana operations located at Lafayette Regional Airport,” said Lafayette City Mayor-President Joel Robideaux. “We are fully invested in the partnership we’ve created and look for great things for our community, the company and Bell Helicopter employees.”
