Originally Posted by
FH1100 Pilot
I wonder how those Japanese Coast Guard guys like flying around in a single-engine helicopter without floats? Baaaaah, modern turbine engines never quit! Right? Bell better come out with some popout floats for that thing quick!
Nigelh:
Aux tank? Probably a good idea, Nige old bean. I mean, what idiot designed that thing with a thirsty French engine and only 85 gallons of fuel?? Jeez-Louise, 85 gallons, LOL. Even a 206B-III had more fuel than that and they only burn 26 gph.
Bell claims that at sea level the 505 has a no-reserve range of 299 miles at a "long range cruise" of 112 knots. This implies that they believe the fuel consumption of the Arrius to be...(drumroll)...31.5 gph. Damn, that's a lot of gas being sucked through at "long-range cruise." Hate to have to pull it up to MCP! (Something tells me Bell wasn't originally planning on using the Arrius but was forced into it for some reason.)
Okay, what if we want to land *with* some reserve...say a half-hour? 15 gallons. That leaves us with only 70 gallons to play with, which is a little over two hours at 112 knots. Granted, most light helicopter trips are less than 125 miles. But man, this 505 does not carry a whole lot of fuel!
So...where are they going to put the aux tank...in the baggage compartment? Hey, why not, LOL. Or maybe they can stick little sponsons on the sides...like a miniature 222! HAHAHAHAH. Whatever, just gimme another 30 gallons, please? Pretty please?
I'll tell you, man, those Bell engineers have to really be scratching their heads and sharpening their pencils...err, styluses. An autopilot will add weight, an aux fuel tank will add weight. Beefing up the underbelly structure and landing gear is going to add weight! I'll bet they'll be applying for a MGW increase pretty soon. Or...maybe not. That would probably mean beefing up the fuselage structure and landing gear even more. 'Round and 'round we go!
If they don't already, Bell will eventually rue the day they brought this turkey of a helicopter to the market. Good thing it's a strikingly good-looking bird! Well...maybe it will be when they get those damn landing gear skids extended.
Think you find they may be replacing the Bell 206 in the training role for their pilots not deployed on ships/cutters.
cheers