Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, has received its first 429 customer order in the People’s Republic of China. The order was confirmed during the Bell 429 demonstration tour in Zhuhai, China on September 15, 2010.

Sold to Mr. Ren Jianjun, a prominent industrialist from Hebei province, this is the first Bell 429 scheduled for delivery in China. Mr. Ren, an aviation enthusiast and pilot, also owns and operates a Bell 206B-3 JetRanger.

Helping facilitate the purchase of the aircraft was Heliflite China. Headquartered with maintenance facilities in Xi’an, Shaanxi province, Heliflite China provides customers with purchasing support and operational assistance.

“The Bell 429 was designed with a global mission scope, and is particularly well suited for the multi-mission roles in the Asia Pacific region, and in particular, China,” said Larry D. Roberts, senior vice president Commercial Business. “The 429 is truly a new force in the marketplace and will appeal to the discerning customer who is interested in reliability, performance and maintenance-cost containment. We are honored to partner with Mr. Ren and bring the first 429 to the People’s Republic of China.”

Customer response to the 429 has been very positive and interest continues to build among potential buyers for its use in private operations, corporate transport and utility missions, emergency medical services and for civil government agencies.

With its superior Category A capability, speed and versatility, spacious cabin, excellent maintainability, and hot and high performance, the 429 sets the standard for 21st century aircraft. The Bell 429 meets the latest requirements of Part 27 airworthiness rules, set in 2007, which are more stringent than the requirements, set a decade or more ago, under which competing light twins were certified.

Designed using the Maintenance Steering Group 3 (MSG-3) process, the 429 is the only helicopter flying whose maintenance program is approved by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and Transport Canada.

In August, the Bell 429 continued its world tour in the Asia Pacific region with customer demonstrations in Australia, Hong Kong and China. More than 1,500 customers have experienced the 429’s speed, performance and spacious cabin firsthand during the world tour, which is scheduled to continue later this year in Africa and the Middle East.

Bell Helicopter, a wholly owned subsidiary of Textron Inc., is an industry-leading producer of commercial and military, manned and unmanned vertical-lift aircraft and the pioneer of the revolutionary tiltrotor aircraft. Globally recognized for world-class customer service, innovation and superior quality, Bell’s global workforce serves customers flying Bell aircraft in more than 120 countries. http://www.bellhelicopter.com

Textron Inc. is a multi-industry company that leverages its global network of aircraft, defense, industrial and finance businesses to provide customers with innovative solutions and services. Textron is known around the world for its powerful brands such as Bell Helicopter, Cessna Aircraft Company, Jacobsen, Kautex, Lycoming, E-Z-GO, Greenlee, and Textron Systems. More information is available at www.textron.com