QUART ERLY - P.I. 21/07 /2017 Intern ationa l € 10, Spedizione in Abbon Chf 10,50 , UK £ 7,50 Poste Italian e S.p.a. amento Postale - 70% - LO/MI
J A D E I S S U E
JADE ISSUE - n° 11 - 2017 - € 10
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The Art of Sailing
[ HELICOPTER ]
This is a bird with big ambitions
HEIR TO
to become the leading light helicopter on the market. Designed specifically for quick, efficient short-medium hops, the Bell 505 Jet Ranger X is ideal for touchdowns on improvised pads, terraces and yacht decks
W
hen it was first presented to the world in 2014, the Bell 505 Jet Ranger X’s unusual lines and wedge shape caused a flurry of controversy. It was a brave
design that signalled a complete departure from the classically harmonious good looks of its predecessor, the Bell 206, which had enjoyed iconic status in the personal helicopter segment since the 1970s. But now the 505 has has been certified in Canada and, with over a thousand flight hours under its belt, it looks like a potential game
by Sergio A. Barlocchetti
changer for the light helicopter market, which has thus far been completely dominated
pictures by Bell Helicopters
by Robinson. Cutting a cheque for a million dollars or so will get you a standard five-seater featuring state-of-the-art Garmin G1000H avionics and powered by the Safran (Turbomeca) Arrius 2R turboshaft which delivers 504 shaft horse power with dual channel fullauthority digital engine control. The typical job of this class of helicopter is ferrying passengers about quickly and
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A LEGEND efficiently, touching down and taking off from improvised helipad terraces and yacht decks but rarely from airports. So performance levels are tweaked to deliver quick transfers on medium-short routes. The Jet Ranger X can make 125 knots (230 km/h) for over 300 nautical miles (almost 500 km) with five people aboard (four passengers and the pilot). The surroundings will be practical but very nicely finished indeed – even the pilot has an adjustable, comfortably padded seat. The model’s useful load is 1,500 lb (680 kg), a weight that, if the full 91 gallons (344 litres) of fuel is taken aboard, still leaves over 880 lbs (around 400 kg), which amounts to four luggage-less adults and a child. Sticking with the figures for a moment, yacht owners will be most
A compact helicopter that seems almost purpose-built for yacht use as it has the smallest dimensions on the market with an 11.2-metre main rotor and a 13-metre fuselage
interested in hearing about the Bell 505 Jet Ranger X’s dimensions: the main rotor comes in at 11.2 metres (37 feet), while the fuselage stretches to 13, making it one of the most compact five-seater helicopters on the market. The chopper also has a very respectable ceiling of 11,000 feet (3,352 m) which is good
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[ HELICOPTER ]
Five people – the pilot and four passengers – can zip along at 125 knots aboard Bell 505 Jet Ranger X for a good 300 nautical miles and more. Plus it has the Garmin G1000H avionics suite, to boot
enough for the Alps. After announcing that the 206B Jet Ranger would be going out of production, by which it meant it was replacing the most enduring, reliable and versatile single-turbine helicopter ever built, Bell put its faith in Honeywell’s market predictions: 400 new helicopters in the next decade, 40% of which would have turbine engines. So the company drew on its own experience, giving the B505 the same rotor as the L4 version of the B206, which has a million flight hours under its belt. But that is the only thing the two models have in common because everything else about the Bell 505 Jet Ranger X, from its 10” avionics screens onwards, is absolutely brand-spankingnew. The cabin and interiors are composite, while the tail boom and skids are metal. The French-built Arrius 2R has a 3,000hour Time Between Overhaul (TBO) which is long enough to plan maintenance well in advance too. If you’d like one for the deck of your boat, you’d better hurry as there are already 200 eager customers on the waiting list.
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