Bell 206

The Bell Helicopter Model 206 JetRanger is a two-bladed main rotor, turbine powered helicopter with a conventional, two-bladed tail rotor. The aircraft uses hydraulic boosted flight controls.

Development

In October 1961, the Army submitted a request for proposals (RFP) for the Light Observation Helicopter (LOH). Bell, along with 12 other manufacturers (including Fairchild-Hiller and Hughes Tool Co. Aircraft Division), entered the competition. Bell submitted their design for Model 206, which was selected out of the design phase of the Navy-run competition by the Army and designated as the YHO-4A^.

Bell produced five prototype aircraft in 1962 to submit to the army for the test and evaluation phase. During the testing phase, the test pilots complained about the power problems of the aircraft, an issue that apparently knocked it out of the running, because when the winners were announced to progress on to the final selection phase, Bell's YOH-4A wasn't selected.Afterwards, Bell attempted to market the model 206, but it didn't fare well commercially. Bell's market research showed that it was the body design that customers found mostly unpalatable. Bell redesigned the fuselage of the airframe to be more sleek and aesthetic, and reintroduced it as Model 206A JetRanger which was a commercial success^.

The 206A, and B are five-seat designs, with two seats in the front and a three seat bench in the back.

206L LongRanger

The 206L LongRanger is a stretched variant with seating for seven (the LongRanger, stretched a total of 30 inches, adds two rear-facing seats in between the front and rear seats). Since their first delivery in 1975, Bell has produced more than 1,700 L's across all variant types. In 1981 a military version was released, the 206L "TexasRanger". The original 206L utilized a Allison 250-C20B engine, and a series of model upgrades replaced this engine with more powerful versions; the 206L-1 used a 250-C28 and the 206L-3 and 206L-4 used the 250-C30P with 490 shaft horsepower.

In 2007, Bell announced an upgrade program for the 206L-1 and 206L-3 which is designed to modify the aircraft to the 206L-4 configuration; modified aircraft are designated 206L-1+ and 206L-3+. Modifications include strengthened airframe structural components (including a new tailboom), improved transmission, upgraded engine for the L-1, all of which result in a max gross weight increase of 300 pounds and increased performance^.

Gemini ST and TwinRanger

The TwinRanger name dates back to the mid-1980s when Bell first developed the Bell 400 TwinRanger, but it never entered production.

In 1989, Tridair Helicopters began developing a twin engine conversion of the LongRanger, the Gemini ST. The prototype's first flight was on January 16, 1991, while full FAA certification was awarded in November. Certification covers the conversion of LongRanger 206L-1s, L-3s and L-4s to Gemini ST configuration.In mid-1994 the Gemini ST was certificated as the first Single/Twin aircraft, allowing it to operate either as a single or twin engine aircraft throughout all phases of flight.

The Bell 206LT TwinRanger was a new build production model equivalent to Tridair's Gemini ST, and was based on the 206L-4. Only 13 206LTs were built, the first being delivered in January 1994, and the last in 1997. The TwinRanger was replaced in Bell's line-up by the mostly-new Bell 427.

407

Derived from the Model 206, the Bell 407 and OH-58D use a newer, 4-bladed, soft, in-plane rigid rotor system which offers improved performance while reducing vibration and noise. The Bell 417 was a follow-on to the 407, but its development was cancelled.

Operational history

The JetRanger entered the civilian market in 1967. The Model 206 has since been updated three times, with the 206B "JetRanger II" arriving in 1971 and the 206B-3 "JetRanger III" with its modified tail rotor and more powerful engine in 1977. The basic shape and design remain unchanged since 1967.

The JetRanger is popular with news media for traffic and news reporting. The U.S. Army eventually selected the 206 for use as the OH-58 Kiowa, fulfilling its originally intended role. The United States Navy, Marines and Coast Guard use 206 variants known as the TH-57 Sea Ranger in flight school at NAS Whiting Field. The TH-67 Creek variant is used by the U.S. Army as a trainer for helicopter students. The LongRanger is commonly used as an air ambulance (the standard JetRanger version is too short for this function).

The Model 206 is flown by a single pilot, who sits in the front right seat. In flight plans the ICAO designator for the JetRanger and the LongRanger is B06.

The Bell 206 was the first helicopter to fly around the world and was piloted by Australian Businessman Dick Smith in 1983. During the trip he landed on container ships at sea to refuel.

On 24 January 2008, Bell Helicopter Textron announced plans to terminate production of the Bell 206B-3 model after current order commitments are fulfilled in 2010.

Variants

Civilian

Military

Bell 206AS

Export version for the Chilean Navy.

OH-58 Kiowa 

Light observation helicopter that replaced the OH-6A Cayuse.

TH-57A 

40 commercial Bell 206A aircraft purchased as the primary U.S. Navy helicopter trainer in January 1968, designated "Sea Ranger".

206L TexasRanger 

proposed export military version, only a demonstrator was built in 1981.

TH-57B 

45 commercial Bell 206B-3 helicopters purchased in 1989 as replacements for the TH-57A for primary training under visual flight rules.

TH-57C 

71 commercial Bell 206B-3 helicopters purchased in 1989 with cockpits configured for advanced training under instrument flight rules.

TH-57D 

Planned upgrade program to convert TH-57B and TH-57C to a single standard digital cockpit

TH-67 Creek 

137 commercial Bell 206B-3 purchased in 1993 as the primary helicopter trainer for the U.S. Army. 35 in VFR configuration and 102 in IFR configuration

 

.Operators

Albania  Australia  Austria  Bangladesh: Bangladesh Army, Bangladesh Air Force  Brazil  Bulgaria  Brunei: Royal Brunei Air Force  Cameroon  Canada Canadian Forces Durham Regional Police Service (1)[4] Canadian Coast Guard  Chile  Colombia  Côte d'Ivoire  Croatia  Cyprus  Ecuador  Ethiopia  Finland  Greece  Guatemala  Guyana  Honduras: Policia Nacional  Indonesia  Iran  Iraq  Israel  Italy  Jamaica  Kuwait

Libya  Malta  Mexico  Morocco  Myanmar  Oman  Pakistan  Peru  Philippines  Poland: Police only  Republic of China (Taiwan): ROC Army  Saudi Arabia  Serbia:Police  Slovenia: Air Force  South Korea  Spain  Sri Lanka  South Africa  Sweden  Tanzania  Thailand  Turkey  Uganda  United Arab Emirates  United Kingdom (civil only)  United States: U.S. Army, U.S. Navy  Venezuela  Yemen

Specifications (206B-3)

Data from {Bell 206B-3 Product Specifications}

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Capacity: 4
• Length: 39 ft 8 in (12.11 m)
• Rotor diameter: 33 ft 4 in (10.16 m)
• Height: 9 ft 4 in (2.83 m)
• Disc area: 872 ft² (81.1 m²)
• Empty weight: 1,713 lb (777 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 3,200 lb (1,451 kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Allison 250-C20J turboshaft, 420 shp (310 kW)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 122 knots (224 km/h/139 mph)
• Range: 374 nm (693 km)
• Service ceiling 13,500 ft (4,115 m)
• Rate of climb: 1,350 ft/min (6.9 m/s)
• Disc loading: 4 lb/ft² (177 N/m²)
• Power/mass: 0.26 hp/lb (420 W/kg)