Mark Huber is an aviation industry veteran who has worked in the flight training, aircraft sales, aircraft component, and airport development businesses. He has flight time in more than 50 different and diverse aircraft, including helicopters, aerobatic aircraft, vintage warbirds, jet fighters, business jets and turboprops, and transport-category aircraft. He has jumped out of several of these—on purpose—with a parachute. His defense and aviation journalism has been published in a variety of national and international periodicals.

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Mark Huber

Bell Helicopter announced upgraded variants of its Model 407 and 412 helicopters today, and the Fort Worth, Texas-based company is displaying them this week at Heli-Expo, which opens tomorrow in Las Vegas.


The Bell 412EPI features a new glass cockpit based on the Bell BasiX flight deck with Rogerson Kratos primary function and multifunction displays similar to those on the company’s 429 light twin. It also has more powerful Pratt &amp; Whitney Canada PT6T-9 Twin-Pac engines and the BLR Strake and <a href="http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/hai-convention-news/2013-03-04/blr-fastfins-gain-new-approvals">FastFin System</a>, which improves high/hot payload capacity by up to 1,410 pounds, according to Bell. The PT6T-9 engines provide 15 percent more power than on the Bell 412EP.


Meanwhile, the Bell 407GT is an armed variant of the 407GX equipped with the Garmin G1000H glass panel avionics system. The 407GT can be equipped with infrared cameras, light munitions and precision weapons systems, including laser-guided rockets and missiles.


It features the universal weapons pylon, derived from Bell’s OH-58D Kiowa Warrior military attack/scout helicopter, which can be quickly reconfigured for machine guns or rockets and is easily removed for multiple mission requirements, including search and rescue. The airframe also has been modified to accept high-visibility windows and doors, sliding doors on both sides and the LifePort Armor Protection System.

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