Originally Posted by
FH1100 Pilot
Heh. When I first saw the 505 with its steel tube frame covered by sheet metal, I thought to myself how similar it was to things that Bell had built before. Like the 47J. I laughed and thought, "This thing is just a gussied-up J-model!" Only uglier. Way, waaaaay uglier. And let's not forget, in 1962, Bell built a J-model with a turbine engine! That would be the HUL-1M, powered by the (then) 250 h.p. Allison 250 engine. Okay, but,..but...the 505 is such a great leap forward in "technology." Right. Like, uhhh, what sort of new tech? Oh yeah, it's got FADEC on the French engine. Aaaaaand...hmm...what else? Well, at least it's got a flat floor! Man, when it comes to helicopters, there is really very little "new" under the sun.
For what it’s worth, the appearance of innovation is often an illusion and the lack of apparent innovation is often due to poor messaging. Any aircraft certified in the last 15 years has a number of technology improvements that are inherent in their updated certification basis. These tend to show up as material changes to advanced metals and composites, electrical system changes to protect against lightning, HIRF and various electrical faults, as well as the many redundancy and simplification improvements you see in a modern glass cockpit. Passenger and crew seat crash, head strike, and egress requirements and certification compliance are substantially more complex in modern helicopters versus the previous generation. Be careful with perceived innovation…