Bell Helicopter's Mirabel Facility Celebrates Completion of its 5,000th Aircraft

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Bell Helicopter's Mirabel Facility Celebrates Completion of its 5,000th Aircraft

Mirabel, QC, Canada (December 12, 2017) - Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, announced today that the company’s Canadian facility located in Mirabel has completed its 5,000th aircraft. The aircraft, a Bell 407GXP, will be owned by China’s Shaanxi Helicopter Co. Ltd. (SHC), which had signed a purchase agreement for 100 Bell 407GXPs earlier this year.

“This is an incredible milestone for Bell Helicopter and a testament to the talent and dedication of everyone here at Mirabel and across the company,” said Cynthia Garneau, president, Bell Helicopter Textron Canada Ltd (BHTCL). “We are confident this new 407GXP will live up to the high performance that SHC expects from the aircraft and we look forward to working with SHC to bring this aircraft into service in China and ensure the smooth delivery of the rest of the 407s on order.”

Bell Helicopter Mirabel 5000th Aircraft_Shaanxi.jpg

To celebrate this significant moment in BHTCL’ history, all Mirabel employees proudly gathered around the 5000th aircraft in the facility’s Delivery Center for a special ceremony.

The Bell 407GXP, launched in 2015, is an upgrade to the Bell 407 product line that provides an additional 50 lbs. (22.5 kg) of payload capability, coupled with a new M250 Rolls-Royce engine that improves performance and fuel efficiency delivering class-leading hot and high performance. The Bell 407GXP is also equipped with new avionics features such as hover performance calculator improvement, as well as transmission TBO extension of +500 hours that is designed to lower maintenance costs. The Bell 407GXP integrates reliability, speed, performance and maneuverability with a cabin configurable for an array of missions and payloads. There are almost 1,400 Bell 407s in operation around the world today performing a myriad of missions in the corporate, Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) and energy space.

Bell Helicopter started in 1935 as Bell Aircraft Corporation, a small aviation company committed to expanding the scope of vertical lift. Now an industry leader with unmatched name recognition, Bell Helicopter continues to set the pace for developing advanced aircraft and finding innovative solutions for both commercial and military markets. Bell Helicopter opened its Mirabel manufacturing operations in 1986 and the facility is the final assembly and delivery site of the majority of Bell’s commercial product lines including the Bell 505 Jet Ranger X, 429, 412EPI and 407GXP.

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About Bell

Thinking above and beyond is what we do. For more than 85 years, we’ve been reimagining the experience of flight – and where it can take us.

We are pioneers. We were the first to break the sound barrier and to certify a commercial helicopter. We were a part of NASA’s first lunar mission and brought advanced tiltrotor systems to market. Today, we’re defining the future of advanced air mobility.

Headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas – as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Textron Inc., – we have strategic locations around the globe. And with nearly one quarter of our workforce having served, helping our military achieve their missions is a passion of ours.

Above all, our breakthrough innovations deliver exceptional experiences to our customers. Efficiently. Reliably. And always, with safety at the forefront.

About Textron

Textron Inc. is a multi-industry company that leverages its global network of aircraft, defense, industrial and finance businesses to provide customers with innovative solutions and services. Textron is known around the world for its powerful brands such as Bell, Cessna, Beechcraft, Pipistrel, Jacobsen, Kautex, Lycoming, E-Z-GO, Arctic Cat, and Textron Systems. For more information, visit: www.textron.com.

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