The Bell 505 Jet Ranger X: An Appraiser’s Perspective

Oct 29, 2026 · @Daniel Kane

In July 2026, Bell handed over its 700th Bell 505 at the Farnborough Airshow. The worldwide fleet has now logged more than 390,000 flight hours in over 55 countries (AIN). For an appraiser, that milestone matters. The fleet is now large enough to give us real comparable sales. It is also young enough that almost every aircraft is still on its first engine run and its original dynamic components.

This article looks at the 505 Jet Ranger X the way we do when a lender, insurer, or buyer asks what one is worth. We cover where it came from, what the market is paying, which details move value, and where we think values are heading.

Program history and specifications

The 505 is Bell’s return to the short light single class after the 206B JetRanger left production. Bell unveiled it as the “SLS” (Short Light Single) at the 2013 Paris Air Show. It got the Jet Ranger X name at Heli-Expo 2014, and the first aircraft flew in November 2014. Transport Canada certified it in December 2016 and the FAA followed in June 2017 (AVweb). Production is at Bell’s Mirabel, Quebec plant.

The name nods to the JetRanger, but the aircraft is largely a new design. It pairs a mixed metal and composite fuselage with a Safran Arrius 2R engine and a Garmin glass cockpit (Flying).

Sources: AIN on the Arrius 2R, AVweb, GlobalAir specs.

Deliveries have moved at a steady pace. Bell reached 100 aircraft in mid-2018, 300 by 2021, the 505th in November 2023, and 700 in July 2026. Customers include private owners, corporate flight departments, tour operators, police units, and flight schools. Military pilot training fleets fly in Jordan, Bahrain, the UAE, Albania, Montenegro, Indonesia, Iraq, and South Korea.

The current market

Low-time 505s are being offered close to the price of a new one. A new 505 is thought to cost about $1.6 million to $2.0 million base. With typical commercial options, a custom interior, and avionics upgrades, it can reach about $2.6 million (Helicopter Investor). Across the pre-owned market, Controller recently showed 15 listings asking from $1.1 million to $2.2 million, with an average around $1.73 million (Controller).

A few current listings show the spread:

As we have written before, asking prices are not sale prices. Still, the pattern is useful. A nearly new, well-equipped 505 that is ready now asks at or above the new base price. Buyers pay for immediate availability, remaining warranty, and options already installed. Older and higher-time aircraft fall into the $1.1 million to $1.7 million range. That lines up with JETNET data from 2021, which put 2016 to 2021 aircraft at about $1.2 million to $1.72 million (AvBuyer).

Time on market deserves attention. GlobalAir reports an average listing life of about 305 days for the type (GlobalAir). Aero Asset also reported that pre-owned single-engine helicopter transactions fell in the first half of 2026, even as Bell said new 505 demand in Europe stayed firm (Helicopter Investor). In other words, the right aircraft sells. An overpriced or poorly documented one can sit for most of a year.

What moves a 505’s value

Two 505s of the same year can differ in value by several hundred thousand dollars. When we appraise one, these are the items we look at most closely.

Engine program status. The Arrius 2R is eligible for Safran’s Service By the Hour (SBH) coverage. At launch the program was quoted at about $300 per flight hour, with no minimum annual hours (AIN). An engine that has stayed enrolled and paid up passes that value to the next owner. An engine that dropped out may need a buy-in or a reserve deduction. We confirm enrollment directly with Safran, not from the listing.

Component time remaining. The engine has a 3,000-hour TBO, but the dynamic components run on their own clocks. One 400-hour 2022 listing showed about 2,099 hours left on the tail rotor blades, 2,599 on the tension-torsion straps, 3,600 on the main rotor blades, and 4,100 on the main gearbox (AvPay). For a private aircraft flying 100 hours a year, those events are distant. For a training or tour aircraft, they arrive quickly, and we adjust value using the half-life approach.

Airworthiness directives and life limits. The 505 has had a steady run of ADs, which is normal for a young type. The ones we check every time:

• Pilot collective stick and grip inspection (CF-2021-05), serial numbers 65011 through 65347
• Vertical stabilizer top end cap cracking (FAA emergency AD 2024-02-55), with repeat inspections at 25-hour intervals (Aviation Week)
• Tailcone assembly manufacturing quality escape (CF-2025-62), which cut the tailcone’s life limit (EASA copy)
• Movable ballast box ADs from 2025 and 2026, including FAA emergency AD 2026-05-51 (FAA)
• Revised airworthiness limitations (CF-2026-20R1, August 2026) (CAA NZ schedule)

What matters for value is whether each AD has been closed with a terminating action or is still on recurring inspections. A tailcone with a reduced life limit is a direct, measurable deduction.

Equipment. The G1000H NXi is now standard. Bell has added options over time, including an autopilot, a lightweight EMS interior, a public safety package, Flight Stream, and a movable ballast system (helis.com). In our market, air conditioning, a Garmin GFC 600 autopilot, dual controls, and floats all help resale. For south Florida buyers, an aircraft without A/C is a harder sell.

Warranty. Bell’s factory warranty runs 3 years or 1,000 hours, per current listings. Remaining warranty has real value in a young fleet and helps explain why nearly new aircraft ask such strong prices.

Mission history. A single-owner private aircraft with low hours is the top of the market. Ex-training aircraft carry more cycles, more hard landings, and practice autorotations. Their records need a closer read before we accept the hour meter at face value.

Competition and the Flight School Next decision

The 505’s most direct rival is the Robinson R66, a five-seat turbine single (FLYER). The 505 usually wins on cabin layout, glass cockpit, FADEC, and Bell’s support network. The R66 usually wins on acquisition price. Buyers who want more power or cabin tend to move up to the Airbus H125 or a used Bell 407, which sit in a different price band.

The biggest news for the type in 2026 was a contract Bell did not win. On August 13, the U.S. Army awarded Flight School Next to M1 Support Services. The contract is worth up to $10 billion over as long as 26 years. It will train 800 to 1,500 Army pilots per year on Robinson R66s, replacing the UH-72 Lakota at Fort Rucker (Army.mil, GovConWire). Bell had offered an IFR training version of the 505 (The Defense Post).

For valuation, we see the loss as neutral to slightly negative for the 505. It does not affect the civil fleet’s value directly. It does remove a large U.S. order that would have added production volume and supported the parts and training network. On the other hand, it also avoids a future wave of ex-military 505s entering the used market at the end of the contract.

Outlook

We expect 505 values to hold well for clean, low-time private aircraft and to soften gradually for high-time and ex-training aircraft. The fleet has not yet faced its first big test. That will come as the earliest training aircraft reach the 3,000-hour engine TBO and their main dynamic component limits. How the market prices those first heavy-maintenance aircraft will show the type’s true depreciation curve.

Meanwhile, steady production gives buyers an easy alternative to any overpriced used aircraft. Sellers who price to the data and have complete records, SBH enrollment, and closed-out ADs will do best. Lenders should note the long average time on market when setting advance rates.

Need a Bell 505 appraisal?

Everette Aviation provides USPAP-compliant appraisals of the Bell 505 and other light and medium helicopters for lenders, lessors, insurers, buyers, and litigation. Our appraisers hold the ASA designation and an FAA A&P with Inspection Authorization, so we review logbooks, AD compliance, and component times as mechanics, not just as analysts. Contact us at everetteaviation.com to discuss your aircraft.

Sources

• AIN: Bell 505 hits 700 deliveries at Farnborough
• Helicopter Investor: Bell Textron goes 700 up with the Bell 505
• AIN: Safran delivers first U.S.-built Arrius 2R to Bell
• AVweb: Bell delivers 400th 505
• Controller: Bell 505 listings
• GlobalAir: Bell 505 market data
• AvBuyer: Bell 505 market insight
• U.S. Army: Flight School Next selection
• CAA New Zealand: Bell 505 AD schedule