Bell 407

Bell Helicopter this week delivered the 1,000th 407 production aircraft (serial no. 54000) to Shin-Nihon Helicopter Corporation in Japan.

Bell began developing the light helicopter in 1993 to supplement its line of 206B3 JetRangers and 206L LongRangers, making the first flight of the 407 proof-of-concept demonstrator a year later.

It announced the Model 407 program at Heli-Expo Jan 29, 1995 and received more than 40 orders during the show.

Shin-Nihon Helicopter said it will use the 1,000th Bell 407 "to perform power-line patrols and contribute to its other missions, which include transportation of materials and equipment for construction, comprehensive aerial survey and photographing services, and transportation and filming and image analysis."

In another milestone achievement, 2010 marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of Shin-Nihon Helicopter, which began operating the Bell Model 47G2 shortly after its foundation.

Today, its helicopter fleet includes seven 206L-3s, one Fuji-Bell 204B-2, three 427s and two 407s.

As part of its purchase of the 1,000th 407, it has a fourth 407 on order in a transaction arranged by Mitsui Bussan Aerospace, Bell's independent representative in Japan.

"Our company well recognizes that helicopters manufactured by Bell have outstanding performance and exactly meet the requirements to
fulfill the tasks assigned to us," Shin-Nihon Helicopter Executive Director Koji Izumi said. "As a matter of fact, of the 13 helicopters
Shin-Nihon owns, 12 are Bell helicopters. Thus, we are truly part of theextended Bell family.

"Considering such circumstances," he said, "I hope that relationship between Bell and Shin-Nihon Helicopter will grow tighter and tighter and would like to ask Bell to continue to provide its high level of customer support."

The Bell 407 is a single-engine helicopter that seats seven people, including the pilot.

The standard configuration is for one pilot and six passengers. It is powered by the Rolls-Royce M250-C47B turboshaft engine and is in service in 51 countries around the world.