Bell Textron Canada, a Textron Inc. company, and the Canadian Coast Guard announced the delivery of a new Bell 429 helicopter to the Coast Guard at Bell’s Mirabel facility. The delivery, which occurred on September 15, marks an important milestone for both Bell Textron Canada and the Canadian Coast Guard. For Bell, it represents the 400th Bell 429 helicopter delivered, and for the Coast Guard, the completion of its light helicopter renewal program launched in 2014. Today’s announcement represents the culmination of seven years of ensuring the Coast Guard has the equipment it needs. The building of the Coast Guard’s helicopter fleet in Canada by Bell Textron Canada contributed to growing Canada’s economy and ensuring good, well-paying jobs were available to Canadians. The work accomplished will ensure that Canadians are well-served by the Coast Guard in the years to come.
“With this procurement, our Canadian Coast Guard’s light helicopter fleet is fully renewed. This is so important because a strong, well-equipped Coast Guard is one of the best ways to save lives on the water and protect our marine environment,” said the Honourable Joyce Murray, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard.
“We are proud to contribute to the accessibility, sustainability, and security of our Canadian waters. Through our proven expertise and a well-established Canadian support network, Bell continues to serve citizens around the world. Our global workforce and Canadian industrial base celebrates together with the Canadian Coast Guard, and Bell 429 operators across the globe. With this aircraft, CCG is now the largest Bell 429 operator,” said Steeve Lavoie, president, Bell Textron Canada.
Since 2014, the Canadian Coast Guard and Bell Textron Canada have had a strong relationship that has strengthened during the renewal of the Coast Guard’s fleet of light and medium helicopters, comprised of seven Bell 412EPI and 16 Bell 429 helicopters. These helicopters provide support to ships engaged in critical maritime work including Aids to navigation, environmental response, icebreaking operations, and in support of search and rescue operations. The Canadian Coast Guard helps keep Canada’s waters safe, clean, and more accessible to keep the Canadian economy moving. For 35 years, Bell Textron Canada has designed, developed, assembled, and delivered leading-edge commercial helicopters in Mirabel to provide vertical lift solutions for operators, businesses, and government agencies all over the world – building a remarkable legacy as Canada’s helicopter company. Certified in 2009, the Bell 429 is the result of close collaboration with Government of Canada as well as provincial governments.
The Bell 429 GlobalRanger is a light, twin-engine helicopter developed by Bell Helicopter and Korea Aerospace Industries. First flight of the Bell 429 prototype took place on February 27, 2007, and the aircraft received type certification on July 1, 2009. The Bell 429 has a four-blade rotor system with soft-in-plane flex beams. The rotor blades are composite and have swept tips for reduced noise. The tail rotor is made by stacking two, two-blade rotors set at uneven intervals for reduced noise. The Bell 429 is capable of single-pilot IFR and Runway Category A operations. The 429 has a glass cockpit with a three-axis autopilot and flight director as standard. Standard landing gear are skids. A retractable wheel landing gear is optional and adds five knots to cruising speed. The helicopter is a single-pilot IFR Category A helicopter. It is capable of operating with one engine inoperative.more than 325 aircraft had operated 330,000 hours for police forces, air medical teams and militaries in 42 countries, including Australia, France, Indonesia, Kuwait, Oman, Switzerland, Slovakia, Sweden, Turkey, Thailand, the United States and the United Kingdom.