Bell will later this year begin an operational evaluation of its 525 Relentless in partnership with Omni Helicopters, as the airframer closes on certification for the long-running super-medium-twin.
Disclosing the agreement at a Dallas press conference on 10 March ahead of the Verticon trade show, Danny Maldonado, Bell chief commercial officer, said the trials would cover 500h of flying across a six-month period using a single aircraft.
Flights in support of oil and gas operations in Guyana, South America are scheduled to start “in the latter half of the year”, he says, and will involve pilots from both Omni and Bell.
There is strong speculation that the pact covering the operational evaluation is backed by a commercial agreement comprising future options for up to 10 525s.
Maldonado declines to be drawn, simply adding that “other discussions will be ongoing” and that options are not included “in this specific agreement”.
But before the operational evaluation can begin, the 525 has to gain Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification, says Maldonado.
While Bell is refusing to speculate on when the helicopter might finally gain certification, the timing of the Omni deal indicates increasing confidence that the milestone is close.
Mike Deslatte, senior vice-president of the 525 programme, says the rotorcraft has now completed baseline certification flight testing.
A 150h function and reliability (F&R) test campaign remains, he says, “and we have a pretty robust plan to get that done really quickly” working alongside the FAA.
Aircraft 15 – a production-representative example – will be used for the F&R campaign and is “configured and ready for these tests”.
Additionally, tests in Bell’s systems integration lab of the helicopter’s avionics and flight-control system still need to be completed.
Meanwhile, two 525s are currently based in Alaska and Michigan conducting icing and cold-weather expansion testing, respectively.
Bell last year signed a deal with Norwegian oil producer Equinor for 10 offshore-roled 525s for delivery from 2026.
Deslatte says Bell continues working with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency to support the certification process and delivery timeline.
