Jet Aviation has delivered five customised Bell 407GXi aircraft to Nautilus Aviation, a helicopter service provider based in Northern Australia. The delivery is part of a total order of five aircraft sold and reconfigured by Jet Aviation for charter, utility and tourism work.
The five aircraft were sold by Jet Aviation, a Bell Independent Representative in Australia and fully customised for specialist use at Jet Aviation Bankstown. The modifications included role equipment installation, including air conditioning, emergence pop-out floats, emergency locator transmitters and cabin audio, in addition to regular aircraft reassembly from shipping. Jet Aviation also managed the issuance of the Australian certificate of airworthiness. The first aircraft was delivered to Nautilus in Q4 2022, with the final aircraft delivered in Q2, 2023.
The aircraft were reconfigured to ensure they meet a wide range of requirements, including transporting charter and tourism passengers and utility and support work such as flood relief efforts and firefighting.
“One of our primary reasons for selecting the Bell 407 GXi Aircraft as the flagship of our fleet was the versatility of the airframe and the upgrades made to enhance both customer and pilot experiences,” said Aaron Finn CEO of Nautilus Aviation. “The after sales support has been exceptional and we continue to work closely with Jet Aviation and Bell on specialised maintenance programmes and training for our teams across all company bases.”
Jet Aviation has some five rotary customisation and maintenance facilities in Australia and the Middle East, including two RBI Hawker facilities in partnership with Bell Helicopters. The company also offers helicopter sales in both geographies and is a Bell independent representative and customer service facility in Australia.
Jet Aviation is a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics with some 4,000 employees and 50 locations worldwide. Jet Aviation’s offerings include aircraft management, aircraft sales, charter, completions, defence, FBO, maintenance and staffing.
