429 receives airworthiness certificate in China

Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc. company (NYSE: TXT), announced today that it has received its airworthiness certificate from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) for the Bell 429. The certification follows the first complete assembly and successful flight testing of a 429 at a CAAC 145 service facility.

"We are very excited to see the first operational and serviceable Bell 429 in China. This is an important milestone for the Bell 429 and for Bell Helicopter as we continue to expand our presence in the Asia Pacific region," said Eric Cardinali, Bell Helicopter's executive vice president of Customer Support and Services. "We constantly strive to provide solutions to our operators' growing training needs," added Cardinali. "Part of that solution is gaining regulatory approvals in order to provide our customers access to the breadth of training programs provided by the Bell Training Academy."

Kingwing General Aviation Company, a CAAC 145 service facility, completed the first reassembly and flight testing of a Bell 429 in China. With the CAAC approval of two Kingwing pilots' Bell Helicopter Training Academy (BTA) 429 flight training, Kingwing signed a Memorandum of Agreement to perform demonstrations of the aircraft at Airshow China in November.

Bell Helicopter recently received CAAC approval to provide pilot training on Bell 429 helicopters. The Bell 429 pilot training program blends theoretical knowledge instruction with specific aircraft training tasks that are conducted in the advanced flight training device, as well as in the aircraft itself.

The Bell 429 is one of the most advanced light twin IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) helicopters ever developed. It is safe, reliable and powerful, and serves the full spectrum of segments (air medical, law enforcement, oil & gas, utility, corporate, etc). The 429 has set the standard for light twins, delivering exceptional speed, range, and hover performance.