Bell Textron announced Thursday that it delivered its 2,000th Bell 407 helicopter to White Saddle Air Services, a family-owned helicopter operator based near Tatla Lake in British Columbia, Canada. The delivery comes after nearly three decades of production.
Three Decades of Production
Introduced in 1996, the Bell 407 has been used for a range of operations, including emergency medical services, law enforcement, corporate transportation and utility work. The helicopter has undergone several updates over its production history, including the introduction of the 407GX and 407GXP variants.
In 2018, Bell introduced the 407GXi, which added Garmin’s G1000H NXi integrated flight deck and an updated Rolls-Royce engine. The latest variant continues to serve operators in a range of commercial and public service missions.
Milestone Delivery
White Saddle Air Services is based at Bluff Lake in British Columbia’s Cariboo Chilcotin region. Bell did not disclose the new aircraft’s configuration or its intended operations.
Bell President and CEO Danny Maldonado in Thursday’s announcement attributed the milestone to the manufacturer’s employees and customers. The company also recognized its manufacturing facility in Mirabel, Quebec, which supports production and deliveries of the Bell 407 to customers worldwide.
“The delivery of the 2000th Bell 407 is a tremendous milestone for Bell and for the global community of operators who have placed their confidence in this platform,” said Maldonado. “This achievement reflects the dedication and expertise of the teams who collectively work together to engineer and build this platform, as well as the customers that use this aircraft to perform everyday missions.”
White Saddle air service is based in the west of the Chilcotin area of central BC, at Tatla Lake on the highway from Williams Lake to the coast at Bella Coola.
There’s a White Saddle Mountain in the area. Name suits the Caribou/Chilcotin ‘cowboy country’.
(Beware its web page shows them far to the east, I’ve pointed that out to them.)