Bell Helicopter has entered into an agreement to deliver two of its Model 505 light single helicopters to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). Headquartered in Tallahassee, Florida, the FWC manages fish and wildlife resources across the Sunshine State. The aircraft will aid in multi-mission law enforcement operations for FWC’s division of law enforcement, which is responsible for patrol and investigative law enforcement services over more than 8,400 miles of coastline, 13,200 sq mi of offshore waters, and more than 34 million acres of land.
The five-seat Bell 505 features a large, open cabin that provides panoramic views, a fully integrated Garmin G1000H NXi avionics suite, and a dual-channel fadec-controlled Safran Arrius 2R engine. It cruises at 125 knots and has a 360-nm maximum range. Bell has delivered more than 360 of the light helicopters worldwide since the 505's service entry in 2017 and in February announced the installed fleet had achieved 100,000 flight hours.
“The Bell 505 is a proven platform for public safety agencies around the world,” said Lane Evans, Bell's managing director for North America. “The Bell 505 advances an agency’s ability to readily respond to emergencies on the ground, sky, or water. Bell is proud the FWC has selected the Bell 505 as its choice aircraft to advance the vast mission of the agency.”
