Bell 212

Last updated

Bell 212
Kachina-b212-N212KA-030909-02cr.jpg
Bell 212 operated by Kachina departs from the Mojave Spaceport
RoleMedium utility helicopter
National originUnited States/Canada
Manufacturer Bell Helicopter
First flight1968
Introduction1968
StatusProduction completed
Primary user CHC Helicopter
Produced1968–1998 [1]
Developed from Bell 204/205
Variants Bell UH-1N Twin Huey
Developed into Bell 412

The Bell 212 (also known as the Bell Two-Twelve) is a two-blade, twin-engine, medium helicopter that first flew in 1968. Originally manufactured by Bell Helicopter in Fort Worth, Texas, United States, production was moved to Mirabel, Quebec, Canada in 1988, along with all Bell commercial helicopter production after that plant opened in 1986. [2] [3]

Contents

The 212 was marketed to civilian operators and has up to a 15-seat capacity, with one pilot and fourteen passengers. In cargo-carrying configuration, the 212 has an internal capacity of 220 ft3 (6.23 m3). An external load of up to 5,000 lb (2,268 kg) can be carried.

Development

Based on the stretched fuselage Bell 205, the Bell 212 was originally developed for the Canadian Forces as the CUH-1N and later redesignated as the CH-135 . The Canadian Forces took delivery of 50 starting in May 1971. At the same time the United States military services ordered 294 Bell 212s under the designation UH-1N.

German Bell 212 used as air ambulance by the Ministry of the Interior. BMI Bell 212 D-HBZT.jpg
German Bell 212 used as air ambulance by the Ministry of the Interior.

By 1971, the Bell 212 had been developed for commercial applications. Among the earliest uses of the type in civil aviation was by Helicopter Service AS of Norway to be used in support of offshore drilling; it proved popular across the offshore sector in particular as it had been certified for operating under marginal weather conditions. [4] Today, the 212 can be found used in logging operations, maritime rescue and resupply in the Arctic on the Distant Early Warning Line or North Warning System.

The 212 is powered by a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6T-3 Twin-Pac made up of two coupled PT6 power turbines driving a common gearbox. They are capable of producing up to 1,800 shp (1,342 kW). Should one power section fail the remaining section can deliver 900 shp (671 kW) for 30 minutes, or 765 shp (571 kW) continuously, enabling the 212 to maintain cruise performance at maximum weight.

Early 212s configured with an Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) package were required to have a large and very obvious fin attached to the roof of the aircraft, above and slightly behind the cockpit. This fin was initially determined necessary to alter the turning performance of the aircraft during complex instrument flight maneuvers, but is no longer required due to revised stipulations of the type certificate. Many aircraft still fly with the modification.

In 1979, with the purchase of eight by the Civil Air Authority, the 212 became the first U.S. helicopter sold in the People's Republic of China.

The ICAO designator for this aircraft as used in a flight plan is "B212". Bell developed the Model 212 further with the Bell 412; the major difference being the composite four-blade main rotor. The last Bell 212 was delivered in 1998. [1]

Variants

Operators

Santa Barbara County Handcrew and a Bell 212 on the Day Fire Day-fire-helitack-01.jpg
Santa Barbara County Handcrew and a Bell 212 on the Day Fire

Civil and government operators

The Bell 212 is used by many private and commercial operators, it is particularly popular in the oil industries and for law enforcement use.

Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
Flag of Bangladesh.svg  Bangladesh
Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg  Bosnia and Herzegovina
Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia
Flag of Colombia.svg  Colombia
Flag of Greenland.svg  Greenland
Flag of Iran.svg  Iran
Flag of Japan.svg  Japan
Flag of North Macedonia.svg  North Macedonia
Flag of Serbia.svg  Serbia
Bell 212 of the Macedonian Police (now Police of North Macedonia) flying over Skopje in 2008 Bell 212 Z3-HHB of the North Macedonian Police.jpg
Bell 212 of the Macedonian Police (now Police of North Macedonia) flying over Skopje in 2008
Flag of Slovenia.svg  Slovenia
Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand
Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States

Specifications (Bell 212)

Bell 212 3-view drawing Bell UH-1N Iroquois Drawing.svg
Bell 212 3-view drawing
Cockpit Cockpit Augusta Bell 212.jpg
Cockpit

Data from Bell 212 Rotorcraft Flight Manual [19]

General characteristics

Performance

Notable accidents

See also

Related development

Related lists

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bell UH-1 Iroquois</span> Family of American military utility helicopters

The Bell UH-1 Iroquois is a utility military helicopter designed and produced by the American aerospace company Bell Helicopter. It is the first member of the prolific Huey family, as well as the first turbine-powered helicopter in service with the United States military.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bell Textron</span> Aerospace manufacturer in the United States

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bell CH-146 Griffon</span> Military utility helicopter

The Bell CH-146 Griffon is a multi-role utility helicopter designed by Bell Helicopter Textron as a variant of the Bell 412EP for the Canadian Armed Forces. It is used in a wide variety of roles, including aerial firepower, reconnaissance, search and rescue and aero-mobility tasks. The CH-146 has a crew of three, can carry up to ten troops and has a cruising speed of 220–260 km/h.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bell AH-1 SuperCobra</span> Series of twin-engine attack helicopters

The Bell AH-1 SuperCobra is a twin-engined attack helicopter that was developed on behalf of, and primarily operated by, the United States Marine Corps (USMC). The twin Cobra family, itself part of the larger Huey family, includes the AH-1J SeaCobra, the AH-1T Improved SeaCobra, and the AH-1W SuperCobra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bell 206</span> Utility helicopter family by Bell

The Bell 206 is a family of two-bladed, single- and twin-engined helicopters, manufactured by Bell Helicopter at its Mirabel, Quebec, plant. Originally developed as the Bell YOH-4 for the United States Army's Light Observation Helicopter program, it was not selected by the Army. Bell redesigned the airframe and successfully marketed the aircraft commercially as the five-place Bell 206A JetRanger. The new design was eventually selected by the Army as the OH-58 Kiowa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bell 412</span> Utility transport helicopter family by Bell

The Bell 412 is a utility helicopter of the Huey family manufactured by Bell Helicopter. It is a development of the Bell 212, with the major difference being the composite four-blade main rotor. It is a twin-turbine helicopter that has been popular on the civilian and military markets, and major users include Canada, Italy, and Japan. Several hundred have been produced since its introduction in 1979, and several iterations of upgrades and variations have been produced such as with upgraded cockpit electronics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bell 429 GlobalRanger</span> American utility helicopter

The Bell 429 GlobalRanger is a light, twin-engine helicopter developed by Bell Helicopter and Korea Aerospace Industries. The first flight of the prototype took place on February 27, 2007, and the aircraft received type certification on July 1, 2009. The Bell 429 is capable of single-pilot IFR and Runway Category A operations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eurocopter UH-72 Lakota</span> Light utility multipurpose helicopter

The EurocopterUH-72 Lakota is a twin-engine helicopter with a single, four-bladed main rotor. The UH-72 is a militarized version of the Eurocopter EC145, built by American Eurocopter, a division of Airbus Group, Inc. Several hundred UH-72 of various types have entered service by the 2020s since their introduction in 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AgustaWestland AW139</span> Twin-engined, medium-lift helicopter manufactured by Leonardo

The AgustaWestland AW139, now known as the Leonardo AW139, is a 15-seat medium-sized twin-engined helicopter developed and produced by the Anglo-Italian helicopter manufacturer AgustaWestland, now part of Leonardo. It is marketed at several different roles, including VIP/corporate transport, military use, offshore transport, firefighting, law enforcement, search and rescue, emergency medical service, disaster relief, and maritime patrol.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bell 214</span> American helicopter

The Bell 214 is a medium-lift helicopter derived from Bell Helicopter's ubiquitous UH-1 Huey series. The Bell 214ST shares the same model number, but is a larger, much-modified twin-engine derivative.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bell 309 KingCobra</span> Prototype attack helicopter

The Bell Model 309 KingCobra was an experimental attack helicopter developed by Bell Helicopter, based on the Bell AH-1 Cobra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bell UH-1Y Venom</span> Military utility helicopter model by Bell

The Bell UH-1Y Venom is a twin-engine, 4-blade, medium-sized utility helicopter built by Bell Helicopter under the H-1 upgrade program of the United States Marine Corps. One of the latest members of the numerous Huey family, the UH-1Y is also called "Yankee" for the NATO phonetic alphabet pronunciation of its variant letter. Bell was originally to produce UH-1Ys by rebuilding UH-1Ns, but ultimately used new built airframes. In 2008, the UH-1Y entered service with the Marine Corps and also began full-rate production. The new UH-1 variant replaced the USMC's UH-1N Twin Huey light utility helicopters, introduced in the early 1970s. The helicopter were ordered by the Czech Republic and the helicopter is in production in the early 2020s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bell 204/205</span> American helicopter series

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, Forestry Operations, and aerial firefighting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bell UH-1N Twin Huey</span> Utility transport helicopter

The Bell UH-1N Twin Huey is a medium military helicopter designed and produced by the American aerospace manufacturer Bell Helicopter. It is a member of the extensive Huey family, the initial version was the CUH-1N Twin Huey, which was first ordered by the Canadian Forces in 1968.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bell 214ST</span> Type of aircraft

The Bell 214ST is a medium-lift, twin-engine helicopter descended from Bell Helicopter's ubiquitous UH-1 Huey series. Though it shares a type number with the somewhat-related Bell 214, the 214ST is larger and of quite different appearance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bell UH-1 Iroquois variants</span> Variants of the American military utility helicopter

The Bell UH-1 Iroquois military helicopter, first introduced in 1959, is the first production member of the prolific Huey family of helicopters, and was itself developed in over twenty variants, which are listed below.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sikorsky XH-39</span> Type of aircraft

The Sikorsky XH-39, developed by Sikorsky Aircraft in 1954, was the U.S. Army's first turbine-powered helicopter. It was fast and innovative, but ultimately rejected by the United States Army in favor of the Bell UH-1 Iroquois.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bell Huey family</span> American family of utility helicopters

The Bell Huey family of helicopters includes a wide range of civil and military aircraft produced since 1956 by Bell Helicopter. This H-1 family of aircraft includes the utility UH-1 Iroquois and the derivative AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter series and ranges from the XH-40 prototype, first flown in October 1956 to the 21st-century UH-1Y Venom and AH-1Z Viper. Although not flown in military service in the USA, the Bell 412 served in Canada and Japan, and like the UH-1Y is a twin engine four rotor design based on the Bell 212.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">H-1 upgrade program</span>

The H-1 upgrade program is the United States Marine Corps's program to develop the AH-1Z Viper and UH-1Y Venom military helicopters to replace its aging fleets of AH-1W SuperCobras and UH-1N Twin Hueys. The contract was awarded in 1996 to Bell Helicopter, the original manufacturer of both aircraft, to design the new airframes as modernized attack and utility helicopters with considerable design commonality, to reduce operating costs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6T</span>

The Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6T Twin-Pac is a turboshaft engine designed for helicopters. Manufactured by Pratt & Whitney Canada, its first application was in the Bell 212 and UH-1N Twin Huey helicopter family. The PT6T Twin-Pac consists of two PT6A power turbines driving a common output reduction gearbox, producing up to 2,000 hp at 6,000 rpm. The engine is designated T400 by the U.S. military.

References

  1. 1 2 "Bell 212" (subscription article). Jane's Helicopter Markets and Systems. Jane's Information Group, 2 April 2013.
  2. Industry Canada (December 2010). "Bell Helicopter Textron Canada Ltd. – Complete Profile". Archived from the original on October 1, 2012. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
  3. Goold, Ian (November 1987). "Canada Seeks Helicopter Self Sufficiency". Flight International. Retrieved December 14, 2010.
  4. "ElBell 212 en la Fuerza Aérea". FAA official magazine. Archived from the original on October 28, 2008. Retrieved June 25, 2022.
  5. "Eagle Single | Airframe Customizations | Eagle Copters" . Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  6. "Eagle Copters Obtains U.S. FAA Certification for the Eagle Single" . Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  7. Canadian Coast Guard (April 17, 2012). "Coast Guard Rotary Wing Aircraft". Archived from the original on April 20, 2013. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
  8. Johnson, Oliver (January 5, 2018). "Better, Faster, Stronger: The Canadian Coast Guard's new helicopter fleet". Vertical Magazine. Archived from the original on June 14, 2018. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  9. "Policija Fleet". Helis.com.
  10. "CH-135 detailed list". rwrwalker.ca. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
  11. "Bell 212" . Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  12. Regencia, Ted (May 19, 2024). "Iran helicopter crash live news: Rescuers find President Raisi's aircraft". Aljazeera . Retrieved May 19, 2024.
  13. "Japan Coast Guard Bell-212". 海上保安庁 2013 FlyTeam. Archived from the original on February 18, 2013. Retrieved January 22, 2013.
  14. "Serbia Police Aviation". aeroflight.co.uk. Retrieved January 14, 2014.
  15. "Helikopterji in oprema". policija.si. Archived from the original on June 8, 2015. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
  16. "Thai Police Aviation Division". police.go.th. Archived from the original on April 17, 2015. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
  17. "Aircraft Operated". sbcounty.gov. Retrieved July 26, 2013.
  18. "Dousing the Flames: San Diego Fire Department Air Ops Program". Access Intelligence, LLC. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved July 26, 2013.
  19. Bell 212 Rotorcraft Flight Manual BHT-212IFR-FM-1 revision 3, 1 May 1998.
  20. Lednicer, David. "The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage". m-selig.ae.illinois.edu. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
  21. "2/1984 Bell 212, G-BDIL, 14 September 1982". GOV.UK. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  22. Taylor, Jerome (May 20, 2024). "Helicopter carrying Iranian President Raisi crashes, state media says". CNN . Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  23. Zarracina, George Petras and Javier. "Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi dies in Vietnam-era Bell 212 helicopter crash on mountain". USA TODAY. Retrieved May 21, 2024.

Further reading