New Bell 505 for Fort Worth police
Fort Worth Police Department, in the US state of Texas, has announced the purchase of a second Bell 505 helicopter
The Bell 505, purchased from manufacturer Bell Textron, complements an existing aircraft delivered in 2021.
The single-engine rotorcraft will be used by the department’s Air Support Unit for missions such as aerial surveillance and search and rescue (SAR).
It is powered by a Safran Arrius 2R with dual-channel full authority digital engine control (FADEC), and features a Garmin G1000H NXi avionics suite.
It has a cruise speed of 231km/h with a range of 566km, and a maximum endurance of over 3.9 hours.
“Bell is proud the Fort Worth Police Department has chosen to expand their existing all-Bell public safety fleet with the purchase of an additional Bell 505, continuing our long-standing relationship with the Department,” said Lane Evans, Managing Director, North America, Bell Textron.
Oliver Cuenca
Oliver Cuenca was a Junior Editor at the Voyageur Group. He was previously a News and Features Journalist for the rail magazine IRJ until 2021, and studied MA Magazine Journalism at Cardiff University. His favourite helicopter is the AW169 – the workhorse of the UK air ambulance sector! He also led the creation of Waypoint: The AirMed&Rescue podcast, serving as its Production Editor and co-host.