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]

American civilian Bell 206B.

Specifications

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

Mauritius Bell 206B-3.

French Bell 206B.

Civil variants

• 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

US Marines Corps TH-57C Sea Ranger

• 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

Civil users

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

Ugandan military Bell 206B.

US Army Bell OH-58D.

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

• Eurocopter AS-350 Ecureuil.
• PZL-Swidnic SW-4.