en.Wedoany.com Reported - The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has begun critical testing for the type certification of the Bell 525 Relentless helicopter, marking one of the final steps before the model receives its type certificate.

Jeff Schlosser, Senior Vice President of Strategic Pursuits at Bell, told media at the Farnborough Airshow: "FAA pilots began testing last Friday at the Bell 525 Advanced Systems Integration Laboratory (Rasil), and the work has continued into this week."

After the Rasil lab testing concludes, the certification process for the Bell 525 Relentless helicopter will enter the Function and Reliability (F&R) testing phase. This phase is expected to involve approximately 150 hours of flight testing and is a crucial step before obtaining the type certificate. Bell is advancing operational testing of the model in icing and cold weather conditions, with some tests already underway, and plans to complete more icing certification projects in collaboration with the FAA within this year.

Bell is simultaneously preparing for operations after receiving the type certificate. Schlosser stated that the company is progressing with testing for icing and cold weather operations, with some tests already conducted, and plans to conduct more tests with the FAA this year to obtain icing certification.

The Bell 525 Relentless helicopter is a new super-medium twin-engine helicopter developed by Bell, primarily targeting markets such as offshore oil and gas transportation, search and rescue, and business aviation. The advancement of FAA testing indicates that the certification process for this model has entered its final stage.