Bell 204/205

For an overview of the whole Huey family of aircraft see Bell Huey family
Bell 204 / 205
Kern County (California) Fire Department's Bell 205 departs from the Mojave Spaceport
Role Multipurpose utility helicopter
Manufacturer Bell Helicopter
First flight October 22, 1956
Introduction 1959
Status Production completed
Produced 1956-1980s
Developed from Bell UH-1 Iroquois
Variants Bell 212
Bell 214
A Bell XH-40, a prototype of the UH-1 and Bell 204

The Bell 204 and 205 are the civilian versions of the Bell UH-1 Iroquois single-engine military helicopters. They are type-certificated in the transport category and are used in a wide variety of applications, including crop dusting, cargo lifting and aerial firefighting.

Development

Bell designed its Model 204 in response to a 1955 United States Army requirement for a utility helicopter. The 204 was a giant step forward in helicopter design, being one of the first to be powered by a turboshaft. The turboshaft engine radically improved the practicality of the helicopter due to its light weight and high power-to-weight ratio, lower fuel consumption, and lower maintenance and operating costs. The use of a turboshaft in the 204 allowed it to carry a useful payload over respectable ranges and at reasonable speeds, which resulted in the 204 and subsequent 205 becoming the most successful western helicopter series in terms of numbers built.[1]

The civil 204B was first delivered in 1961. The subsequent Model 205A-1 is equivalent to the UH-1H, which, compared to the 204, is longer, larger, and has better performance and a more powerful engine.[1]

Over 60 civil Model 204Bs had been delivered by 1967, while further examples were built by Agusta-Bell up until 1973. 12,000 Model 205s (including civil 205A-1s) were built by Bell and Agusta-Bell up to the early 1980s. Numerous ex-military 204s and 205s were converted for commercial use.[1]

Variants

A Bell 205A-1, used for parachutists during World Games 2005, Duisburg, Germany for the parachuting-competitions.
A Bell 205A-1 on firefighting duty with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources at Nym Lake, ON, 1996
A Bell 205A-1 with its helitack firefighting crew on standby with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources at Sioux Lookout, Ontario, 1995
A Bell 204B (upgraded to a "C" model) arrives to pick up its Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources firefighting crew on Fire 141, 1995

Bell 204

Bell Helicopter's company designation of the UH-1B.

Bell 205

Bell Helicopter's company designation of the UH-1H.

Experimental models

Upgrades

Derivatives

Main article: Bell 212
Main article: Bell 214
Main article: Bell 412

Operators

Military operators

For all military operators, regardless of the actual model, see List of UH-1 Iroquois operators

Governmental and civilian operators

 Canada
California Department of Forestry "Super Huey", formerly an EH-1H, assigned to the Bieber Helitack crew, takes off from the Mojave Airport
 Thailand
 Republic of China
 United States

Specifications (204B)

Bell 204 rotor head
Bell 204 instrument panel

Data from The International Directiory of Civil Aircraft [1]

General characteristics

Performance

See also

Related development


Related lists

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Frawley, Gerard: The International Directory of Civil Aircraft, 2003-2004, page 44. Aerospace Publications Pty Ltd, 2003. ISBN 1-875671-58-7
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 FAA Type Certificate Data Sheet H1SW for the 204, 205A, 205A-1 and 210 models
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Greg Goebel's Vectorsite in Public Domain
  4. Douglas W. Nelms (2005-11-01). "Eagle Power". Aviation Today. Retrieved 2007-03-17.
  5. "Skycranes". Centennial of Flight Commission. Archived from the original on 9 April 2007. Retrieved 2007-03-15.
  6. 6.0 6.1 Panha hovers between repair and manufacturing.
  7. "Discovery Air /GSH -Fleet". Powered by Saucal. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
  8. "Research aircraft (rotary and fixed wing) - National Research Council Canada". Nrc-cnrc.gc.ca. Retrieved 2014-04-22.
  9. "ROYAL THAI POLICE -History" (PDF). Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  10. "Royal Thai Police Wing". © 2002-2013 JetPhotos.Net. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  11. "National Airborne Service Corps (NASC)". Copyright © 2007 TaiwanAirPower. Retrieved 18 Jan 2013.
  12. "CAL FIRE Air Unit". Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  13. "Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services". ffs.gov. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  14. "Heuy dust off". Network Solutions®. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
  15. "LVMPD Air Support". Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  16. "NASA Security". Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  17. of the UH-1 on Airliners.net
  18. "OC Fire Authority". Copyright ©DPD. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  19. "SBSD Aircraft operated". sbcounty.gov. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  20. "San Diego Sheriff's Copter 10 Responds To Riverside County For Hoist Rescue". Police Helicopter Pilot.com. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  21. "San Diego County Sheriff Bell 205A". Demand media. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  22. "Southwest Border Region". CPB.gov. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  23. "US Customs & Border Protection UH-1H". Demand media. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  24. "Ventura County Air Unit". Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  25. "Kittitas County prepares for wildfire season". dailyrecordnews.com. Retrieved 17 January 2013.

The initial version of this article was based on a public domain article from Greg Goebel's Vectorsite.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bell 204.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bell 205.