In recognition of the first 100 years of manned flight, a Bell 407 piloted by Jennifer Murray and Colin Bodill landed at the South Pole on 17 December (New Zealand time). The First Polar team intends to circumnavigate the poles on a planned 31,634 mile round trip concluding in New York in April, 2004.

Since October 22, the single-engined helicopter has covered 11,947 miles from New York, down the US East Coast, across several Caribbean nations, and around Central and South America through Venezuela, Suriname, Guyana, Brazil, and Chile to Antarctica. The route includes a 600-mile unrefueled round trip from the Thiell Mountains in Antarctica to the US installation at South Pole Station and back. Automated flight following is provided by the Blue Sky Network using Iridium satellites. The corporate-sponsored trip is meant to raise funds and awareness for the World Wildlife Federation.

The Bell 407 fleet meanwhile passed the 1,000,000 flight hour mark in November. Bell has 548 Model 407s in 41 countries flying corporate, emergency medical, law enforcement, and other missions. Based on the four-bladed rotor system of the military OH-58D Kiowa Warrior, the commercial helicopter was certificated by the FAA in February 1996. More than half the accumulated fleet time was flown in the last three years.

On a less positive note, the US Department of the Interior Office of Aircraft Services, responsible for aviation safety programs, issued a stand-down order in December for all Bell 407s under contract. In the wake of recent mishaps, the OAS is requiring contract operators to complete one-time inspections of the Rolls-Royce (Allison 250) engine hydromechanical unit. The inspection takes about one hour to complete.

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