- Bell Textron Canada is celebrating the sale of the 100th Bell 505 in Europe. The sale is to a private individual in the United Kingdom and is one of four 505s sold to U.K. customers, all private individuals. All four purchase contracts were signed at European Rotors 2024, a trade show. “As an aircraft owner looking for a modern single-engine turbine aircraft, I selected the Bell 505 for its incredible performance, advanced avionics, modern technology and great looks,” said Adam Fawsitt, one of the purchasers. All Bell 505s are manufactured at Bell’s Mirabel, Quebec factory.
- Pratt & Whitney Canada will be demonstrating hydrogen combustion technology on a PW127XT regional turboprop engine as part of the Initiative for Sustainable Aviation Technology (INSAT) program, a joint government-industry initiative to promote the aerospace industry, according to a press release last week. The hydrogen-as-fuel project is named the Hydrogen Advanced Design Engine Study (HyADES) and is in collaboration with Mississauga, Ontario-based Next Hydrogen Solutions, Inc. “This collaborative project with INSAT enables us to develop key technologies for future hydrogen powered aircraft and complements our wider efforts to advance aviation sustainability through a range of pathways, including continued improvements to engine efficiency, hybrid-electric propulsion and compatibility with sustainable aviation fuel (SAF),” said P&WC’s v-p of engineering Edward Hoskins. Also announced last week, the federal government will pump $11.3 million into a $34.9 million Pratt & Whitney Canada research and development project related to next-generation thermal engine technologies. “This particular project is targeted at demonstrating advanced solutions to increase engine thermal efficiency to help reduce fuel burn and emissions for a wide variety of future aircraft platforms,” said Maria Della Posta, president of the Longueuil, Quebec-based aerospace company.
- Kelowna, B.C.’s KF Aerospace will be acquiring 19 Airbus H135 helicopters on behalf of SkyAlyne, the joint venture it has formed with Montreal-based CAE to provide flight training to the RCAF as part of the 25-year Future Aircrew Training (FAcT) program. The helicopters will be completed at Airbus’s Fort Erie, Ontario plant using imported components as well as components manufactured at the Fort Erie facility. Deliveries are expected to begin mid-2026. (See this week’s featured video that tells the story of SlyAlyne.)