Today Bell Helicopter A Textron Company owns 10 production facilities with total floor space in excess of 3,000 square feet. 8,000 people work for Bell worldwide. The total number of helicopters made by the company is over 35,000.
First vertical helicopters by Mr Bell
Larry Bell founded Bell Aircraft Corporation on July 10, 1935. At that time there were only 56 people on the payroll.
However, they were enthusiastic enough to quickly turn Bell Aircraft from a small firm into a large manufacturer with three own production plants in Buffalo, Fort Worth and Niagara Falls - though until 1942 the company had been building airplanes only, and only military ones at that. But in 1942 the history of Bell Aircraft smoothly moved on to a major new area: the company started making helicopters which soon became its main product. In the same year the helicopter division got its own name, Bell Helicopter.
The first prototype Bell Model 30 designed in 1942 at the Fort Worth facility wasn't perfect by today's standards - not by a long shot. But the 30th became a milestone by opting for the classic single-rotor design with an anti-torque propeller. As early as in 1945 the company designed a practical "workhorse" - its first rotary-wing masterpiece. Most important here is "first".
Bell 47 was the first certified civilian helicopter in the world, and the first mass-produced model successfully sold all over the world. It was used both for civilian and military purposes: during the Korean war Bell 47 played the role of a "winged paramedic". It was a remarkably long-lived veteran, manufactured from 1946 till 1973! Bell 47 was a great success of the company's designers that allowed to secure the light helicopters niche and move on to building equally practical, multipurpose machines in the intermediate class.
American Dream comes true
To be fair, it should be noted that in the middle of the last century Bell Helicopter mostly manufactured military helicopters. And, by the way, the company designed a masterpiece in this area too - arguably the most popular machine ever, the legendary Bell UH-1 Iroquois which became an integral part of Hollywood movie industry featuring in almost all films about the Vietnam War. Still, between the 1960s and 1980s the company had introduced three civilian helicopters. The first one, Bell 206 Jet Ranger launched in 1966, became one of the symbols of the American Dream. Originally it was designed as a light reconnaissance helicopter for the American army, but became truly famous as a private and business machine. Today the single-engine gas-turbine Bell 206B-3 is one of the most popular and widely used models. There are over 8,000 of them flying all over the world - a record of the helicopter industry. The model's total flying time is more than 38 million hours, and during all that time Bell 206B-3 had been continuously modified and improved.
On the basis of Bell 206B-3 the company designed yet another civilian model: Bell 206L-4 Long Ranger. The cargo section got longer and the machine received a more powerful engine providing better flying characteristics. Later on the aircraft received a patented central girder suspension system to compensate vibration.
Finally, on August 3, 1979, the first four-bladed mass-produced Bell helicopter, the 412, went for its maiden flight. From the moment of its birth, the multipurpose double-engine Bell 412EP helicopter had enjoyed well-deserved recognition which had made it the most popular medium class helicopter of the present day.
The sky is the limit
The 1990s could be called the golden age of Bell Helicopter's civilian aircraft construction.
The 407 Bell model came about as the long-awaited replacement for Jet Ranger and Long Ranger. The company started working on the programme to replace these machines in 1993; the first Bell 407 was introduced in 1995 at HeliExpo in Las Vegas.
Unlike its predecessors, the 407’s got a four-bladed rotor. A particular feature of this aircraft's design is its unlimited operational life.
Other big changes include a wider cabin (18 cm wider than Long Ranger's) and 35% more cockpit windows. The machine's heart is а more powerful Allison 250C47 turboprop engine equipped with a FADEC electronic controls system. This allowed to increase the maximum takeoff weight and improve the aircraft's potential in hot climes and high mountainous regions.
Just two years later, in 1997, a two-engine Bell 427 took off. This model (based on the military OH-58D Kiowa Warrior) incorporated the well-tried design components of the latter, while featuring a spacious wide modular body. The helicopter was equipped with Pratt & Whitney PW 207D engines certified according to the toughest safety criteria FAR/JAR Part 27. All that led to creation of a helicopter with high cruising speed, excellent powerful engines, increased longevity, durability, reliability and safety.
The elite Bell 430 Twin crowns the company's family of models: a fast elegant machine with comfortable 9-seater cabin and retractable wheeled landing gear, presented in February 1996. For more on this aircraft, see the review of medium two-engine gas-turbine helicopters in this issue.
In conclusion we'd like to say a few words about the expectations of the helicopter community. Today the focus of anticipation is the new Bell 429 Global Ranger Light Twin. It's already known that the latest Bell Helicopter design combines nine new technologies of modular constructing. The machine should be certified before the end of this year, and will probably fully live up to the expectations of rotary-wing aficionados.
Dmitry Gnatenko
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