Bell 204/205

Bell 204/205
Kern County (California) Fire Department's Bell 205 departs from the Mojave Spaceport
Role Multipurpose utility helicopter
National origin United States
Manufacturer Bell Helicopter
First flight 22 October 1956
Introduction 1959
Status In service
Produced 1956–1980s
Developed from Bell UH-1 Iroquois
Variants Bell 212
Bell 214

The Bell 204 and 205 are the civilian versions of the UH-1 Iroquois single-engine military helicopter of the Huey family of 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

A Bell XH-40, a prototype of the UH-1 and Bell 204

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 204B helicopters had been delivered by 1967, while further examples were built by Agusta-Bell 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
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

Operators

Military operators

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

Governmental operators

 Canada
California Department of Forestry "Super Huey", formerly an EH-1H, assigned to the Bieber Helitack crew, takes off from the Mojave Airport
 Iran
Iranian Police Aviation AB-205A
 Thailand
 Republic of China
 United States

Specifications (204B)

Bell 204 rotor head
Bell 204 instrument panel

Data from The International Directory of Civil Aircraft [1]

General characteristics

Performance

See also

Related development

Related lists

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Frawley, Gerard: The International Directory of Civil Aircraft, 2003-2004, page 44. Aerospace Publications Pty Ltd, 2003. ISBN 1-875671-58-7
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 FAA Type Certificate Data Sheet H1SW for the 204, 205A, 205A-1 and 210 models
  3. 1 2 3 Greg Goebel's Vectorsite in Public Domain Archived April 5, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
  4. Douglas W. Nelms (2005-11-01). "Eagle Power". Aviation Today. Retrieved 2007-03-17. External link in |publisher= (help)
  5. "Skycranes". Centennial of Flight Commission. Archived from the original on 9 April 2007. Retrieved 2007-03-15. External link in |publisher= (help)
  6. 1 2 Panha hovers between repair and manufacturing.
  7. "Research aircraft (rotary and fixed wing) - National Research Council Canada". Nrc-cnrc.gc.ca. Retrieved 2014-04-22.
  8. "ROYAL THAI POLICE -History" (PDF). Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  9. "Royal Thai Police Wing". © 2002-2013 JetPhotos.Net. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  10. "National Airborne Service Corps (NASC)". Copyright © 2007 TaiwanAirPower. Retrieved 18 Jan 2013.
  11. "CAL FIRE Air Unit". Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  12. "Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services". ffs.gov. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  13. "Heuy dust off". Network Solutions®. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
  14. "LVMPD Air Support". Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  15. "NASA Security". Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  16. of the UH-1 on Airliners.net
  17. "OC Fire Authority". Copyright ©DPD. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  18. "SBSD Aircraft operated". sbcounty.gov. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  19. "San Diego Sheriff's Copter 10 Responds To Riverside County For Hoist Rescue". Police Helicopter Pilot.com. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  20. "San Diego County Sheriff Bell 205A". Demand media. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  21. "Southwest Border Region". CPB.gov. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  22. "US Customs & Border Protection UH-1H". Demand media. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  23. "Ventura County Air Unit". Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  24. "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.

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