Bell 505 Owner: 1 hour in the helicopter is 4 hours in the car
One hour in the helicopter is four hours in the car. So it was a natural progression, it was an easy option, and the Bell was my natural first choice. To be honest, I'm Derek Pierce -- I live in Scotland and I fly a Bell 505 helicopter. We were in construction, working throughout the whole of the UK, but as the business grew year on year I was doing more and more miles, too -- I was getting to the stage where I was doing almost 60 to 65,000 miles every year. I went and took my helicopter lessons, got my license, and the first helicopter I bought was the 505. I was at a meeting the other week -- I flew from the office, flew just under two hours to London, and landed in the garden of the office that was going to have the meeting. It's incredibly convenient -- there's no drive to the airfield to get in your fixed wing, to drive, to fly to an airfield, to get a taxi to a meeting; there's just so much convenience and simplicity in flying the helicopter. You get into the 505, it's modern -- it is glass cockpit, everything has got lots of power, it's just a fantastic helicopter. Over and above that, it's proven technology -- the gearbox, the engine, a really modern machine. It's something you feel very safe in, and the customer support for the Bell is absolutely brilliant -- I feel Bell is very customer-focused from the service, from the sales; the sales guys keep in touch with you. I'm really impressed with the customer focus and the customer service that I get with the 505.
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