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Posted on July 23, 2020 By Robert Payne

Bell Textron Inc.
Formerly
  • Bell Helicopter Company
  • Bell Helicopter Textron
  • Bell Helicopter
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryAerospace
Defense
PredecessorBell Aircraft
Founded1960; 64 years ago (1960)
Headquarters
Fort Worth, Texas
,
US
Key people
Lisa Atherton [1] (president & CEO)
ParentTextron
Websitewww.bellflight.com
Footnotes / references
[2]

Bell Textron Inc. is an American aerospace manufacturer headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. A subsidiary of Textron, Bell manufactures military rotorcraft at facilities in Fort Worth, and Amarillo, Texas, United States as well as commercial helicopters in Mirabel, Quebec, Canada.

History

Bell Aircraft

Main article: Bell Aircraft

The company was founded on July 10, 1935, as Bell Aircraft Corporation by Lawrence Dale Bell in Buffalo, New York. The company focused on the designing and building of fighter aircraft. Their first fighters were the XFM-1 Airacuda, a twin-engine fighter for attacking bombers, and the P-39 Airacobra. The P-59 Airacomet, the first American jet fighter, the P-63 Kingcobra, the successor to the P-39, and the Bell X-1 were also Bell products.[3]

A Bell 47 is displayed at the MoMA
Previous Bell logo

In 1941, Bell hired Arthur M. Young, a talented inventor, to provide expertise for helicopter research and development. It was the foundation for what Bell hoped would be a broader economic base for his company that was not dependent on government contracts. The Bell 30 was their first full-size helicopter (first flight December 29, 1942) and the Bell 47 became the first helicopter in the world rated by a civil aviation authority, becoming a civilian and military success.[3] Due to its burgeoning success, the helicopter division relocated as a separate unit to Hurst, Texas in 1951.

Bell Helicopter

Textron purchased Bell Aerospace in 1960. Bell Aerospace was composed of three divisions of Bell Aircraft Corporation, including its helicopter division, which had become its only division still producing complete aircraft. The helicopter division was renamed Bell Helicopter Company and in a few years, with the success of the UH-1 Huey during the Vietnam War, it had established itself as the largest division of Textron. In January 1976, Textron changed the division's name to Bell Helicopter Textron.[4]

Bell Helicopter had a close association with AgustaWestland. The partnership dated back to separate manufacturing and technology agreements with Agusta (Bell 47 and Bell 206) and as a sublicence via Agusta with Westland (Bell 47).[5] When the two European firms merged, the partnerships were retained, with the exception of the AB139, which is now known as the AW139. Bell and AW cooperated also on the AW609 tiltrotor.[6]

Bell planned to reduce employment by 760 in 2014 as fewer V-22s were made.[6] A rapid prototyping center called XworX assists Bell's other divisions in reducing development time.[7]

The company was rebranded as "Bell" on February 22, 2018.[8]

In July 2024, at the Farnborough International Airshow, Bell Textron commemorated a significant milestone with the delivery of the 500th Bell 429 helicopter. This notable aircraft was received by the Mendes Group, a prominent operator headquartered in Latin America, intended for corporate transportation purposes within Brazil.[9]

Product list

Established in 1986, its Mirabel, Quebec facility assembles and delivers most of Bell's commercial helicopters and delivered its 5,000th helicopter on December 12, 2017.[10]

Commercial helicopters

Model Intro. Until MTOW (lb/t) Notes
Bell 47 1946 1974 2,950 1.34 based on the Bell 30 prototype, piston engine
Bell 47J Ranger 1956 1967 2,950 1.34 Bell 47 executive variant
Bell 204/205 1959 1980s 9,500 4.31 Huey family civil variant, single turboshaft
Bell 206 1967 2017 3,200 1.45 light single or twin turboshaft
Bell 210 ? ? 11,200 5.08 205B
Bell 212 1968 1998 11,200 5.08 Civilian UH-1N Twin Huey
Bell 214 1972 1981 15,000 6.8 larger Huey
Bell 214ST 1982 1993 17,500 7.94 medium twin derived from the 214
Bell 222/230 1979 1995 8,400 3.81 light twin
Bell 407 1995 current 6,000 2.72 four-blade single derived from the 206L-4
Bell 412 1981 current 11,900 5.4 four-blade 212
Bell 427 2000 2010 6,550 2.97 407 derived light twin
Bell 429 GlobalRanger 2009 current 7,000 3.2 lengthened 427
Bell 430 1995 2008 9,300 4.22 222/230 stretch
Bell 525 Relentless 2018 current 20,500 9.3 in development
Bell 505 Jet Ranger X 2017 current 3,680 1.67 206 development
Bell Nexus 2020 current [to be determined] [to be determined] pre-production hybrid-electric propulsion system with six tilting ducted fans[11][12][13]
  • Bell 206B JetRanger III
    Bell 206B JetRanger III
  • Comparison of the Bell 212 (U.S. Navy HH-1N) and 412 (Mercy Air) at the Mojave Airport
    Comparison of the Bell 212 (U.S. Navy HH-1N) and 412 (Mercy Air) at the Mojave Airport
  • Bell 412EP Griffin HT1 helicopter of the UK Defence Helicopter Flying School
    Bell 412EP Griffin HT1 helicopter of the UK Defence Helicopter Flying School
  • Bell Nexus ‘Air Taxi’ at Smithsonian in 2022
    Bell Nexus ‘Air Taxi’ at Smithsonian in 2022
  • Bell Nexus ‘Air Taxi’ at Smithsonian in 2022
    Bell Nexus ‘Air Taxi’ at Smithsonian in 2022

Military helicopters

Tiltrotors

V-22 in flight
V-280 in flight

Projects produced by other companies

Unproduced designs

Facilities

Bell manufacturing and support facilities are:

Military
Commercial

See also

References

  1. ^ "Lisa Atherton Named President and CEO of Bell". April 10, 2023. Archived from the original on April 18, 2023. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
  2. ^ "About Textron: Our Businesses". October 21, 2015. Archived from the original on January 16, 2019. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
  3. ^ a b History of Bell Helicopter Archived June 3, 2007, at the Wayback Machine. bellhelicopter.com
  4. ^ "Our History". Bell Training Academy. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007.
  5. ^ "Westland History – Part 4". Archived from the original on November 7, 2006. Retrieved November 15, 2006.
  6. ^ a b Oliver Johnson & Elan Head. "Bell CEO outlines European growth plan Archived May 21, 2024, at the Wayback Machine" Vertical, October 15, 2014. Accessed: October 21, 2014.
  7. ^ "Bell's XworX studying improved rotor blades". Aviation International News. Archived from the original on June 30, 2021. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
  8. ^ "Bell Drops 'Helicopter,' Unveils New Dragonfly Logo". February 22, 2018. Archived from the original on February 23, 2018. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
  9. ^ "Bell celebrates 500th delivery of Bell 429". Globalair.com. July 23, 2024. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  10. ^ Mark Huber (December 13, 2017). "Bell Canada Delivers 5,000th Civil Helicopter". AIN. Archived from the original on December 14, 2017. Retrieved December 14, 2017.
  11. ^ "StackPath". www.intelligent-aerospace.com. Archived from the original on June 27, 2021. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  12. ^ Goldstein, Michael. "Bell Nexus VTOL Air Taxi Makes A Splash At 2019 Consumer Electronics Show". Forbes. Archived from the original on February 2, 2019. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
  13. ^ "Smithsonian To Reveal the Bell Nexus 'Air Taxi' at "FUTURES"". Smithsonian Institution. Archived from the original on November 29, 2021. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
  14. ^ "Bell Helicopter Expands Amarillo Manufacturing". news.bellflight.com. August 10, 2020. Archived from the original on November 20, 2022. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
  15. ^ "Bell Helicopter Expands Amarillo Manufacturing". www.newschannel10.com. August 12, 2008. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  16. ^ Canada, Employment and Social Development (May 19, 2016). "Bell Helicopter Textron Canada relocates assembly program to Quebec". gcnws. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_Helicopters

    by Robert Payne

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