Aircraft tours Nepal while demonstrating superior performance around Mount Everest
Kathmandu, Nepal (November 17, 2015) – Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, announced the successful demonstration tour of the new Bell 407GXP throughout Nepal.
Images of the demo tour can be found here.
“Bell Helicopter demonstrated the heightened capability and customer-driven enhancements of the popular Bell 407 platform during the tour through Nepal,” said Sameer A. Rehman, managing director, Asia Pacific. “Throughout the demo tour, our customers praised the performance capabilities of the Bell 407GXP – noting its smooth ride, maneuverability, and increased performance at high altitudes. Proving this incredible helicopter’s capability in the Himalayan mountain range was a true testament to the Bell 407GXP’s game-changing performance in the highest terrain on the planet.”
Bell Helicopter introduced the latest variant of the popular Bell 407 platform at Heli-Expo 2015 in March, with great customer interest. The new aircraft incorporates the reliability and advanced technology of the Bell 407GX platform, and introduces performance enhancements, payload increase and pilot workload reduction.
Bell Helicopter’s pilot began demonstration flights in Kathmandu, Nepal and into Mount Everest Base Camp area. While there, the Bell 407GXP successfully climbed to an altitude of 20,000 feet. The demonstration flight was executed from Lukla airfield, and demonstrated several landings from 13,500 to 19,600 ft. near the Everest Base Camp.
“I was incredibly pleased with the performance of the aircraft and to demonstrate the increased power, performance and economics of the new M250 Rolls-Royce engine, producing 862 horsepower,” said Bell Helicopter demonstration pilot Will Williamson. “The aircraft performed extremely well, and I was able to demonstrate the aircraft’s ability to land at base camp and pick up passengers for potential recoveries back down the mountain.”