Matt Thurber, editor-in-chief at AIN Media Group, has been flying since 1975 and writing about aviation since 1978 and now has the best job in the world, running editorial operations for Aviation International News, Business Jet Traveler, and FutureFlight.aero. In addition to working as an A&amp;P mechanic on everything from Piper Cubs to turboprops, Matt taught flying at his father’s flight school in Plymouth, Mass., in the early 1980s, flew for an aircraft owner/pilot, and for two summer seasons hunted swordfish near the George’s Banks off the East Coast from a Piper Super Cub. An ATP certificated fixed-wing pilot and CFII and commercial helicopter pilot, Matt is type-rated in the Citation 500 and Gulfstream V/550. Based in the Pacific Northwest, Matt and his team cover the entire aviation scene including business aircraft, helicopters, avionics, safety, manufacturing, charter, fractionals, technology, air transport, advanced air mobility, defense, and other subjects of interest to AIN, BJT, and FutureFlight readers.

Editor-in-Chief

Matt Thurber

Bell Textron is displaying its 505 light single and a Subaru Bell 412EPX medium-twin-engine helicopter at the Dubai Airshow while also highlighting other helicopters targeting the Middle East market. These include the 525, the first civil flight-by-wire helicopter, which is undergoing the final stages of FAA certification; the 407 aerial scout/light attack platform; and the 429 for law enforcement and emergency medical services (EMS).
Since its introduction in 2017, Bell has delivered more than 500 Bell 505 Jet Ranger X aircraft to operators in 55 countries, and the company is now positioning the helicopter as the next training platform for military ab initio programs. The latest such proposal is for the U.S. Army’s Flight School Next program, and an IFR version of the 505 would replace the twin-engine UH-72 Lakota. The Lakota is based on the Airbus Helicopters EC145 and is also used by the U.S. Navy.
Advantages of the 505 design include a high-inertia rotor system that Bell claims is better suited to helping students learn autorotation maneuvers, as well as the Garmin G1000H NXi integrated avionics suite, and a roomy cockpit with space for pilots wearing headsets, helmets, and night-vision goggles. Observer students can view the front-seat pilots from stadium-style rear seats equipped with dedicated audio panels.
Bell's sister company, TRU Simulation, offers its Veris virtual reality (VR) flight training device in a Bell 505 configuration. Replacing larger visual displays with the VR headset not only makes the simulator’s footprint much smaller but also gives students the ability to view the outside world and helicopter interior in any direction, including a display of their own hands manipulating the cockpit controls and avionics. The simulator’s six-degrees-of-freedom motion base adds to the realism of flight training activities, which can replicate scenarios such as slope and building landings, EMS scenes with obstacles, full-down autorotations, and entry into inadvertent instrument meteorological conditions.
The next major program set for certification is the Bell 525, and this is expected soon. “Bell continues type inspection authorization flight testing and is closely collaborating with the FAA on all remaining efforts,” a Bell spokeswoman told AIN.

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