Bell Helicopter is undertaking a major reshuffle of its production facilities, with the biggest shift coming at its Lafayette, Louisiana site, which loses the final assembly of the 505 Jet Ranger X it was built for.
That site was only opened in August, but the 505 will now be transferred to Bell’s plant in Mirabel, Canada. At the time, the airframer promised to invest $11.4 million in the 7,620m² (82,000ft²) site it is leasing from the Lafayette Regional airport.
Instead of the Jet Ranger X, the Lafayette factory will build cabin subassemblies for the 525 super-medium helicopter and perform modification work on the 429-based Northrop Grumman MQ-8C. These activities transfer from sites in Amarillo, Texas and Ozark, Alabama.
“Neither move is expected to impact the certification of the 525 or 505,” says Bell.
“The relocation of these programmes will enable the company to optimise its manufacturing footprint across multiple sites, while maximising the core capabilities of each facility,” says Bell chief Mitch Snyder. “Mirabel is a vital part of Bell Helicopter's long-term growth strategy and this move confirms our commitment to our Mirabel workforce and infrastructure.”
Bell produced the three flight-test vehicles for the Jet Ranger X at Mirabel, and is due to receive Transport Canada certification for the Turbomeca Arrius 2R-powered helicopter in the coming weeks.
Since the mid-1990s, the Mirabel plant has been home to all Bell’s commercial products. This includes the light single-engined 206L4 and 407, and the twin-engined 429 and 419.
Bell’s decision to move the 505 to Mirabel is driven by spare capacity “due to efficiencies and lower volume, that allows us to reorganise the space”, it says.
Flightglobal’s Fleets Analyzer database lists the backlogs for Mirabel-produced models as totalling 339 units, dominated by the 253 orders across several variants of the 407. Only 26 examples of the 429 remain to be built, records Fleets Analyzer.
In the longer term, additional room should be created by the departure of the 412EPI thanks to the manufacturer’s contract with Tokyo under its UH-X programme. This will eventually see a variant built in Japan by Fuji Heavy Industries.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
