Originally Posted by
Rotorhead84
If anyone familiar with the finer details could lay it out for me and school me I sure would appreciate it.
In general, from the airframe perspective, there are some charts here with basic specs and their comparison (except L1/30P conversion):
https://www.easa.europa.eu/sites/def...l%20Report.pdf
On the L1/C30P conversion add a fuel tank extender to 110 gallons and you basically get a L-3 range with slightly more usable weight depending on configuration. The L1/C30P conversion is done through several different FAA STCs. Bell does offer an upgrade through a TB but it is for certain L-1 and L-3 airframes and upgrades those to a L-4 equivalency.
The L-4 does have increased gross weight, but if I recall, the loading chart "stove-pipes" that extra weight around the center-line of the aircraft. Also the entire L-4 drivetrain (mast, xsmn, input shaft, FWU, R/B, T/R drive) is completely different. So having one L-4 in the mix of a number of L-3s requires a bit more spare parts consideration.
As to performance, I'll leave that to the experts.