Bell 429: now in Russia

The first Bell 429 light twin-engine helicopter was delivered to Russia this summer, to be operated as a VIP transport by Chelyabinsk-based carrier ChelAvia. The helicopter’s payload weight is 1,300 kg; it can carry four to six passengers.

The airframe was shipped as a kit from the Bell Helicopter facility in Mirabel, Canada, in late June. The delivery was supported by Jet Transfer, Bell’s official representative in Russia, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine. Engineers from Kazan Air Enterprise, supervised by a Bell Helicopter technical representative, assembled and test-flew the helicopter at the Moscow aircraft repair plant. On 4 July it was ferried to its home base in Chelyabinsk. Later the same month Bell 429 was awarded a Russian type certificate.

As for now the most popular type from Bell Helicopters in Russia was single-engine Bell 407 model with 13 helicopters in the Russian commercial fleet. The other Bell models already presented at this market are Bell 206 (5 rotorcraft as of the beginning of 2011) and twin-engine Bell 427 (2 helicopters) and Bell 430 (2).

Ekaterina Sorokovaya