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First Flight Gallery: Bell 429 GlobalRanger
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Read the original first flight press release:
Bell 429 lifts off
Bell has not yet issued a press release on the first flight of the 429, so here are some details as presented at the press conference at Heli-Expo in Orlando on February 28.
The Bell 429 GlobalRanger light twin-engine helicopter made its first two flights on 27 February 2006 at the Mirabel platn in Quebec. The two test pilots focused on controllability and synchronization. According to executive director of commercial programme management Bill Stromberg, the helicopter hovered in ground effect at about 15 feet and also maneuvered in all directions at 30 to 40 feet. “The chief mechanic told us all he was hearing was blowers and engines,” Stromberg said, noting the aircraft's quietness. “It's well harmonized between the cyclic, collective and control pedals.”
Full technical data and history can be found here.
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