Royal Engineered Composites has been awarded work on Bell Helicopter’s new 525 Relentless. The Relentless program will require Royal to produce composite components in support of the helicopter’s tailboom and cockpit assemblies.
The Bell 525 Relentless will feature sponsons on the aft fuselage for retractable wheeled landing gear and internally stowed floatation devices. The sponsons will provide a weight-efficient and fuel-efficient configuration for high-speed flight. In addition, a cross-sectional area of the tail boom is reduced to optimize payload and airframe lateral drag in sideward flight.
The Relentless is a Super Medium rotorcraft with expected use in Oil and Gas sector, corporate, emergency medical, firefighting, and parapublic transport. Manufacturing will take place at Bell Helicopter’s facility in Amarillo, Texas and first flight is expected in 2014.