Helicopter Spotlight: Bell 505 in focus
We have teamed up with AvBuyer and Parapex Media to bring you our monthly "Helicopter Spotlight" - This month: the Bell 505
What’s the story of the Bell 505? Which markets is it popular with, and what are the fleet details today? Jeremy Parkin offers an overview of this popular single-engine turbine model.
The?Bell 505 Jet Ranger X?is an entry level helicopter, with five seats and a single turbine engine. It is the natural successor to the 206 JetRanger model, the provenance of which stretches back to a US Army requirement in the early 1960s.
First unveiled at the Paris Air Show in 2013, initially as the Bell ‘SLS’ (Short Light Single), the model was officially designated as the Bell 505 by the time Heli-Expo was held early the following year.
Ultimately, the unveiling of the Bell 505 came as no surprise. Over the decades, Bell had produced almost 5,000?206 JetRanger?units (with a further 758 built under licence by Agusta), and the model was close to the hearts of helicopter pilots worldwide, many thousands of whom listed the JetRanger as being their first turbine model.
After production of the 206 JetRanger ceased in 2010, Bell lacked an entry-level helicopter, although it did continue production of the larger 206L4 at a slow rate until 2018.
Thus, the Bell 505 was warmly received by the market, and eventually gained Transport Canada certification in December 2016, FAA certification in June 2017, and EASA certification in November 2017.
The Bell 505 Jet Ranger X (note, a space was added in ‘Jet Ranger’ for the 505 model) is built at Bell’s Canadian plant at Mirabel, Quebec.
While fans of the original 206 JetRanger model may initially have expected the Rolls-Royce (Allison) 250 to be the powerplant of choice, the Bell 505 uses a single Safran Arrius 2R engine, offering dual-channel FADEC (Full Authority Digital Engine Control), and a maximum continuous power of 476shp, with 522shp available for take-off.
One particularly popular feature which Bell built into the 505 design from the start was an open cabin, in contrast to the partitioned cabin of the 206 JetRanger (providing strength to the airframe below the rotorhead but dividing the rear passengers from the pilot).
Bell 505: Two-Level Market Developing
Since the Bell 505 started delivering to the market in 2017, values have held up well, but a two-level market is developing, depending on whether the airframe has the Garmin G1000NXi avionics, or the earlier G1000H panel.
Examples equipped with the NXi avionics, delivered from early 2021, are showing very little depreciation over their first 2-3 years when compared with the new delivery price.
Asking prices of earlier models are notably lower, however, and the gap is likely to widen as many of these units are being sold by owners who are already seeking to upgrade. Time will tell how far they are willing to drop their selling price in order to achieve their aim.
Bell 505 Fleet Data
Since certification and initial deliveries, Bell had produced an impressive 500+ units at the time of writing. Nearly 95% of the fleet had been shipped for civil market use, and the Bell 505 fleet was active in 63 countries around the globe. The US and Canada accounts for 33% of the world's Bell 505 fleet. Europe, meanwhile, accounts for 22%.
As private helicopter ownership has developed over the years, it is unsurprising that many of the Bell 505 fleet has been bought as the owner's first turbine rotorcraft, which means that the majority have amassed less than 1,000 airframe hours, providing one explanation for why values are holding so well.
Almost all examples advertised for sale as of this writing have less than 150 hours flying annually. In contrast, the highest time airframe within the fleet had amassed 4,500 hours. In all, 48% of the Bell 505 fleet is normally in use by private operators or corporations (excluding commercial work such as charter).
Approximately 10% of the Bell 505 fleet were fully committed to tasks including Law Enforcement, Newsgathering, Line Patrol, Sightseeing/Tourism and Training.