Hands On | Bell 407 GXP - The Rotor Report

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By: Franco Alexis, Correspondent

We had the pleasure of spending some time with Bell’s 407 GXP demonstrator as it scheduled a demo visit to our local airport. Greeted under grey skies, the stunning machine exuded pure sophistication and power in it’s factory black and grey livery. A notch below the GXI in variant evolution, the GXP is a venerable “swiss-army knife” for the multi-role operator, with the full range of mission ready capabilities. With the weather giving us the ideal backdrop for a shot behind the stick, we took the GXP up for a spin with devilish grins.

Building on the classic 407 design, the GXP is the predecessor the GXI – all the while retaining the bulk of the GXI innovations. Equipped with the wildly efficient and punchy Rolls-Royce M250-C47B/8 engine, the GXP provides more power at hot & high conditions. Operators in the utility field will find a happy a roomier operating ceiling with an additionaly 325lbs (6000ft and IS+20°C).

Equipped with high-visibility passenger windows, 407 GXP is the ideal vehicle for your VIP passengers or tour group. Configured in traditional 407 fashion, the passenger cabin affords the private experience expected of those which require vertical mobility. The superb finishing and leather interiors feature the attention to detail as only Bell can deliver – a happy medium of luxury, with an eye on hard-wearing utility.

Behind the stick the GXP features the Garmin G1000HTM flight deck, a proven flight system with well recognized reliability and lower operating costs. As our industry’s safety expecations evolves, so does the 407 with enhanced situational awareness provided by TIS, HTAWS, moving map, “Pathway in the sky” and Garmin’s HSVT (Helicopter Synthetic Vision TechnologyTM). With all the bells and whistles of the GXP, the very real risk of IIMC is mitigated to it’s lowest degree as far as modern day technology allows.

Once we found ourselves at the controls, we were happy to find a truly silk smooth experience with the flight inputs and a nearly immediate dynamic response. In the air, we felt margins of power which could easily lend itself to full pax payloads at +1300ft and +80°F. Given the chance, we could easily work with loads of 1,500lbs and have enviable visibility with the crew bubble windows.

True to Bell Helicopter’s obsession for perfecting the end-user experience, the 407 GXP is the logical evolution of the light-medium helicopter with a mixed mission set. With the 407 GXi having a backlog of orders to fulfill and lengthy delivery times, we find the 407GXP the ticket item for the operator looking for state-of-the-art technology, but with the greatest bang for your buck.