By Rebecca Rayko

LAS VEGAS, Nevada - Bell Helicopter Textron was eager to spotlight the long-awaited certification of the light twin Bell 427 last Monday at Heli Expo.

FAA officials from the Southwest Region presented Bell president John Murphey with the certification on the show's opening day. Transport Canada certification was awarded last November.

The news was welcomed by the 47 Bell 427 customers who have been waiting patiently for the light twin's certification for months. Bell had delayed certifying the 427 while analyzing the aircraft's tail rotor after discovering problems with the similarly designed single-engine Bell 407 model.

Despite the delay, none of the 47 customers canceled orders. A total of 80 orders currently stand on the books for the new helicopter.

On Monday, the first two 427s were delivered - one to Carroll Suggs, chairman and CEO of Petroleum Helicopters Inc, and the other to Arthur Mascioli, director of Viacao Cometa of Brazil.

Bell delivered 150 commercial helicopters, 38 foreign military helicopters, three new US military helicopters (V-22s), and modified 71 US military helicopters in 1999. Total deliveries equal 279, consisting of 262 new deliveries and modifications, and 17 used helicopter deliveries.