This video will highlight the changes made to the Bell 407 GXi when the IFR supplemental type certificate is applied to the aircraft. We also demonstrate the IFR capabilities by flying an IFR approach.
I’d love to own that helicopter. As a helicopter pilot, I’ve only flown VFR Helicopters so having that IFR capability opens up a lot of doors. I can take that for cross country trips without worrying about being stuck somewhere due to low ceiling.
I would have loved to have that auto drive when I was an active pilot. I flew the 407 in 2005 last time. I retired in 2010. Miss helicopters a little, but I'm happy to be retired. Thanks for the video.
GREAT GREAT GREAT job ! On everything! Super professional!!!! You guys are the best! Super piloting skills! Great job! All the vids you guys have done are GREAT!
I am from Harrisburg; my Father was Mayor of Wormleysburg for 12 years. I anticipate flying my Heli over the area soon. Great video, thanks for sharing!
And to think I took Hueys fully IFR , hours at a time, hundreds of miles, at around 10,000 feet both at Rucker and Germany in the 80s with NONE of that stuff...
Ooh, go you for doing your job. Weak weenie pilot flex from a grunt; likely speaking for Grunts who got see what good pilots do, and what good pilots don't do. Flexing and being a little weenie ain't one of em.
I am very very impressed with this video the 407 is one of my favorite helicopters I'm not a pilot but I always wanted to learn how to fly helicopters. That thing is so quiet and the vibration is pretty much none thank you for sharing totally awesome man I'm just swept off of my feet love this video thank you.
Owen, thank you for producing this highly informative video! Are single engine turbine, IFR certified, helicopters required to have redundant hydraulic sources and/or twin tube hydraulic servo actuators? Or, are single tube servos with backup accumulators sufficient? I've read comments from pilots who believe the H125B3e is the ultimate single engine turbine, because of its redundant hydraulics. After close examination, I see that it has two hydraulic sources which power separate/ isolated portions of the flight control system. No cross feeding of hydraulic pressure is available. The redundancy is in twin tube servos for each of the control links on the lower swashplate. What's up with the 407?? Thanks Again. I look forward to more videos on your projects and that sweet Mooney.
I think single tube without backup accumulators is sufficient since the 407 doesn't have dual hydraulics, and as far as i know, it doesn't have accumulators either. What it does have is a set of springs installed parallel to the cyclic and collective actuation tubes in order to assist the pilot with the increased feedback forces in case of a hydraulic loss scenario and check valves in the actuators so as to not lose all it's hydraulic fluid on its internal spool valve and still actuating the hyd. piston without boost.
Beautiful job, Indeed ! Few questions : 1. What would be the cost and the time needed to configure the helicopter in a full IFR configuration starting from a « green » Bell 407 GXi ? 2. Is it possible to retrofit a 407 GX or GXP in full IFR and upgrade the G1000 ? 3. Why, when you have a CAS alert, the system does not call the adequate C/L ? Is it not a bit dangerous, being single pilot in IFR conditions, to start playing with the search c/l ? 4. Is the A/P taking care of the « Go Around » as well ? It seems you took it manually at that time... Thanks again for those videos, very interesting.
Thank you for the complement 1. Bell is the only one that is doing IFR installations on the 407. The helicopter goes back to Bell in Mirabel and my retrofit took about a month. Current pricing would be through your Bell sales rep. 2. I have been told that the IFR STC is only applicable to the 407GXi. I have flown an IFR certified 407 at the Bell Training Academy that was originally a GX that was converted to a GXi and then received the IFR STC. This conversion included an engine change so probably not a viable option for the standard GX or GXP operator. 3. From the factory, CAS alerts do not bring up any checklists. It's the pilot responsibility to either commit items to memory OR reference the RFH for faults. I built the checklist and uploaded it into the G1000NXi because it is easier for me to reference especially in IFR conditions. Everything is in order and simple to find. I would be willing to bet that I'll find the appropriate reference on my checklist before you can find it in the RFH :-) 4. The autopilot will initiate the go around. When the GA button is pressed, the autopilot selects airspeed hold at 70kts along with a "wings level" attitude. As the pilot adds power and the helicopter begins to climb the missed approach procedure will need to be "unsuspended" and NAV selected on the autopilot. The reason that I took the controls manually in the video was because ATC gave me instructions that were different from the published missed approach instructions.
Thanks for your quick answer, I appreciate 😁 If I understood well, it is. Ow possible to order an « IFR » 407 and then send it to your company for a paint job and interior retrofit ? No need to have the helicopter first and then send it back ? More practical, I would say... For the CAS C/L, I am also using EICAS C/L (B777) but it looks more simple than the G1000 . To many infos on the G1000... (probably because I never used it...) Thanks again ! Luc
The only reason why we sent the 407 back to Bell for the IFR kit was because it was not available yet when the aircraft was delivered. Now a customer would get the IFR kit installed before taking delivery of it. Yes customers can bring it to our company for paint and interior.
I owned an IFR 206 L2. At the same time a 109. Both IFR. What you soon realise is, in the real world is the 407 is super slow. Given a poor day with high winds progress is glacial. So all that money fuel and effort for what could easily be less than 100 knots G/S seems, sorry to say inefficient. Yet I like the super impressive Glass, a nice fit.
Loaded up IFR in IMC it is most welcome. Also those long trips where you need a break from the controls... Otherwise, yes it is more fun to fly any aircraft fixed wing, rotor or otherwise by hand.
I'm not sure, but I think the habit began about 100 years ago with the telephone dials having O for operator. And we used telephone operators all the way to the 1990s. I don't think hardly anybody ever needs to dial the operator anymore.
Or for that matter, main rotor redundancy, tail rotor redundancy, transmission redundancy, etc. In a twin, there are still single points of failure. What about Cessna 172 or any other single like a PILATUS PC-12, etc.? For an interesting read on the Single Engine Helicopter IFR certifications check out www.rotor.org/resource?ArtMID=493&ArticleID=5143
This is analogous to saying you are not a fan of a Genesis GV80 because we all know how that worked out for Tiger. Just like Tiger Woods can drive his car off a cliff, Kobe’s pilot can fly his helicopter into a cliff. It is true that the S-76 was IFR capable, however, Kobe’s pilot was not flying IFR. The charter operator was certified to operate under VFR only and was not permitted to carry passengers IFR. Flying IFR requires advanced planning including obtaining all necessary information including NOTAMS, weather reports at the departure, enroute, and destination, fuel requirements, required altitudes to keep you clear from terrain, etc. IFR requires filing a flight plan with ATC, receiving a clearance from ATC to fly a specific route and a specific altitude that keeps you clear of terrain. Kobe’s pilot did none of this. He was not flying IFR. What Kobe’s pilot did was fly a helicopter on a VFR flight inadvertently into IMC (instrument meteorological conditions) and then crashed the helicopter into terrain.
