As Bell release a video on YouTube of the 505 JetRanger X prototype ground running, the company has also filed the registration papers with Transport Canada.  C-FTVI is the first Bell 505 to be registered on a national register worldwide, and is filed as serial 65002.  It is thus clear that the series starts at 65001 and perhaps the numerically first example will be a ground developemnt aircraft and would not need a registration.  Time will tell.

First flight draws ever closer – multiple Bell sources tell us “before the end of 2014”, although this timing is not helped with Turbomeca closing a US-based parts factory.  The “foreign” engine has long been a concern for potential US customers, who see issues with parts availability and exchange rates.  However, we suggest that they are only now thinking about the issues that most purchasers outside the US have experienced for decades

Jeremy Parkin – HeliHub.com