Bell 206
The Bell 206 is a light helicopter. It was designed and built in the United States by Bell Helicopters.[1] It was originally designed for civilian purposes. It was changed to be used by the military,[2] including the US Army.[3] It first flew in December 1962. Its manufacturing stopped in 2010. Licence-built were occurred to Italian company Agusta.[4]
Specifications
[change | change source]Bell 206 is 39.8½ feet (12.11 meters) long, 33.4 feet (10.16 meters) diameter, and 9.4½ feet (2.88 meters) tall. A minimum mass that weighs 1,713 pounds (777 kg) and at the maximum mass that weighs 3,200 pounds (1 451 kg). It's powered by an Allison 250 engine driving a helicopter rotor with two blades.
Variants
[change | change source]Civil variants
[change | change source]- Bell 206.
- Bell 206A.
- Agusta-Bell 206A, license-built in Italy.
- Bell 206A-1.
- Agusta-Bell 206A-1, license-built in Italy.
- Bell 206B.
- Agusta-Bell 206B, license-built in Italy.
- Bell 206B-2.
- Bell 206B-3.
- Bell 206L LongRanger.[5]
- Agusta-Bell 206L, license-built in Italy.
- Bell 206L-1 LongRanger II.
- Agusta-Bell 206L-1, license-built in Italy.
- Bell 206L-1+ LongRanger.
- Bell 206L-3 LongRanger III.
- Agusta-Bell 206L-3, license-built in Italy.
- Bell 206L-3+ LongRanger.
- Bell 206L-4 LongRanger IV.
- Bell 206LT TwinRanger.
Military variants
[change | change source]- Bell TH-57A, B, C, D Sea Ranger : Training military variant built for US Navy and US Marines Corps.
- Bell OH-58A, B, C Kiowa : Observation and militaries light liaisons variant built for US Army.
- Bell OH-58D Kiowa Warrior : Observation and light attack[6] variant built for US Army.
- Bell TH-67A : Training military variant built for US Army.
- Bell CH-139 : Mulit-purpose military variant of Bell 206B-3 built for Canada.
Users
[change | change source]Civil users
[change | change source]The Bell 206 is a very popular helicopter and was sold in many countries in the world, particularly in USA, Canada, and in Europe.
Military users
[change | change source]In 2013, current and former users of Bell 206 included:
- Albania
- Argentina
- Bangladesh
- Brazil
- Bulgaria
- Canada
- Chile
- Croatia
- Finland
- Iran
- Italy
- Latvia
- Mexico
- Pakistan
- Serbia
- Slovenia
- Sweden
- Thailand
- Taiwan
- Turkey
- Uganda
- United States
- Venezuela
Similar aircraft
[change | change source]References
[change | change source]- ↑ "Bell Helicopter Bell 206 JetRanger - Specifications - Technical Data / Description". www.flugzeuginfo.net.
- ↑ "Bell 206A "Jet Ranger" / OH-58 "Kiowa" helicopter - development history, photos, technical data". www.aviastar.org.
- ↑ "Bell 206 / YOH-4A helicopter - development history, photos, technical data". www.aviastar.org.
- ↑ "Bell 206 407 427 429". Helis.com.
- ↑ "Bell 206L "Long Ranger" helicopter - development history, photos, technical data". www.aviastar.org.
- ↑ (in French)http://www.avionslegendaires.net/avion-militaire/bell-oh-58-kiowa/
Other websites
[change | change source]- Official website of Bell 206L-4 Archived 2013-04-24 at the Wayback Machine