Bell Moving 505 Jet Ranger X Production to Canada

Bell Helicopter announced today that it is moving production of its new 505 Jet Ranger X light single from the

dedicated, purpose-built, and  low-cost production facility it opened for the aircraft just last year in Lafayette, La., to Bell's long-established commercial plant in Mirabel, Quebec. The 505 flight-test program is currently based at Mirabel and the aircraft is scheduled to receive its initial type certification from Transport Canada.

A Bell spokeswoman told AIN that shifting production to Mirabel is expected to cut the time lag between type and production certification, as the entire process will now be coordinated with Transport Canada. Bell still anticipates receiving both type and production certificates for the 505 this year.

“Our Lafayette facility was a new operation and therefore required a more extensive review by the FAA to receive its production certification,” the spokeswoman said. “We anticipate that adding the 505 to our existing production certification in Mirabel will be less complex. Once we have completed the certification process, we can begin production and deliveries from Mirabel. The decision to move the 505 assembly and delivery center from Lafayette was driven by market conditions and the imperative to maintain our expertise and skills in Mirabel.”

The Mirabel plant, which assembles the Bell 206L4, 407, 412, and 429, has been under stress in the face of declining commercial deliveries industry-wide. The plant has endured multiple rounds of layoffs since 2014, the most recent coming in February when 200 employees were discharged, shrinking its workforce to 1,000—a nearly 50-percent reduction from just a few years ago.

Bell does not expect that moving 505 production to Mirabel will increase production costs or the helicopter's price. “We've learned a lot in both Mirabel and Lafayette about production efficiencies, and all of that learning will go into the new 505 line. It will also be set up as a 'factory in a factory,' as we have a number of advances we have in place in Lafayette that will move to Mirabel,” said the spokeswoman.

In 2014, former Bell CEO John Garrison told AIN that keeping the 505’s price point near $1 million was critical to the program's success. “The price elasticity is very clear,” he said at the time.

Announced in 2013, the 82,300-sq-ft dedicated Lafayette assembly plant was seen as a key to keeping 505 manufacturing costs low. The $26.3 million plant was built with generous support from various state and local government entities and expected to create 115 direct new jobs.

Source: ainonline