Bell Textron Inc., a Textron Inc company, announced that the Bell 407GXi 3-axis autopilot has received certification from the United Kingdom’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

“We are thrilled to offer the Bell 3-axis autopilot for the Bell 407GXi to our customers in the UK,” said Patrick Moulay, senior vice president, International Sales.

“The system allows for decreased pilot workload and assistance in the event of inadvertent Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IIMC), overall increasing pilot comfort and ease over long distances.”

Multiple configurations

It is available in the two and three-axis configurations: the two-axis version includes pitch control (altitude hold, IAS hold) and roll control (HDG hold, NAV, vertical navigation mode), and the three-axis option adds yaw control.

In addition, the system is equipped with:

  • Stability augmentation system to automatically recover the aircraft to near-level flight attitude at all speeds in the event of adverse roll or pitch
    Stability engagement throughout all phases of flight
    Envelope protection to prevent over speeding and under speeding

Owners can specify the autopilot system on new Bell 407GXis or have the system retrofitted.

With the autopilot, advanced Garmin avionics, and a dual channel FADEC-controlled engine, the Bell 407GXi continues to set high standards for single-engine aircraft with its advanced technical features.

Bell 407s

There are currently 1,500 Bell 407s operating across all six continents totaling more than six million flight hours.

Bell recently announced the signed purchase agreements for three Bell 407GXi – two in the UK to corporate customers and one in Ireland to Zeus Essential Holding Limited (Zeus), an Irish-owned global packaging solutions company. The signings were announced at HAI Heli-Expo.

Zeus is an innovative packing provider with operations in over 30 countries, including New Zealand, Australia, North America and Europe. The company provides sustainable packing solutions to customers in the industrial and transit, hospitality, retail food service, and agricultural industry.Subscribe to the FINN weekly newsletter