Bell 206: JetRanger and LongRanger
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In the early seventies I saw a Queen's Flight Wessex parked on our school field start exactly that way - get the engines running then pop the brake. Since they were rehearsing for bringing Prince Charles in the next week, I assume they thought it was safe practice, on that type at least.
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On of my coworkers had this happen recently in an L4. He realized the problem at just under 30% and shut it down. Our mechanics switched out the forward short shaft (a K-flex), as a matter of company policy I believe.
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Here's a story,
S76 started with rotor brake on which is normal, BUT with the blades at 45 degree angles, this one had one of the blades right over the exahust of the engines, I started to suspect when the blade started to "swell" rapidly. It finally grew to about 3 times its original thickness.
S76 started with rotor brake on which is normal, BUT with the blades at 45 degree angles, this one had one of the blades right over the exahust of the engines, I started to suspect when the blade started to "swell" rapidly. It finally grew to about 3 times its original thickness.
The 76 is started with the brake on to preserve the gyros for the instruments etc...
Canada is the only place I have seen this and I don't necessarily agree nor disagree. I do wonder how the rest of the world has survived for so long without all the zany ideas about operating the 76 around here...
It is simply in the OPM so I have to do it.
It is ugly and disconcerting to look at when you see the slack (backlash) in the intermediate and TR gearbox's, taken up with such force as the engine force is driven into the TR driveshaft.
Canada is the only place I have seen this and I don't necessarily agree nor disagree. I do wonder how the rest of the world has survived for so long without all the zany ideas about operating the 76 around here...
It is simply in the OPM so I have to do it.
It is ugly and disconcerting to look at when you see the slack (backlash) in the intermediate and TR gearbox's, taken up with such force as the engine force is driven into the TR driveshaft.
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The provision for starting the S76 with the rotor brake engaged is in the flight manual, so it shouldn't be that dangerous or destructive. The part about not starting with a blade over the engine exhausts is in the manual also, & ours are placarded against it. I don't start with the brake engaged as a normal practice, but I sometimes do offshore in gusty wind conditions.
We also do maintenance runs with the brake engaged, so the mechanics can check things in the engine compartment with the cowling open, one engine running at a time. You can't run it with the blades turning & the engine cowling open, so some leak checks, etc have to be done with the brake engaged. You just have to remember not to turn the brake off.
As for the 206, I once started one on an OAS checkride with the fuel valve off. The checkpilot passed me, saying he had seen me reading the checklist, & I reached up & touched the switch, I just didn't turn it on. I was embarrassed, naturally, but I know I wasn't the first to ever have temporary retreating brain stall.
I like to turn the blade 90 degrees. By the time you check for blades turning at 30%, it should be passing over the front, & it's easy to see it turning. I've also lit one off with the blades tied down, & afterwards always made one last check to make sure the blades were on the side.
We also do maintenance runs with the brake engaged, so the mechanics can check things in the engine compartment with the cowling open, one engine running at a time. You can't run it with the blades turning & the engine cowling open, so some leak checks, etc have to be done with the brake engaged. You just have to remember not to turn the brake off.
As for the 206, I once started one on an OAS checkride with the fuel valve off. The checkpilot passed me, saying he had seen me reading the checklist, & I reached up & touched the switch, I just didn't turn it on. I was embarrassed, naturally, but I know I wasn't the first to ever have temporary retreating brain stall.
I like to turn the blade 90 degrees. By the time you check for blades turning at 30%, it should be passing over the front, & it's easy to see it turning. I've also lit one off with the blades tied down, & afterwards always made one last check to make sure the blades were on the side.
Gentleman Aviator
Hilico
That was the normal way of starting any of the military twin turbine Wessexes (Wessi?). The port engine could be disengaged from the drive train and it was normal to start that way in "Accessory Drive". Port engine then becomes world's most expensive APU, but can then get hydraulica and electrics etc on line before rotor start (hyds particularly important!). Starboard engine then started with rotor brake on, some torque set, and rotor started. Port engine then coupled into "Main Drive". Very complicated but it all worked ... used to take baby student pilots about 45 mins to start on their first few attempts though.
Back to the original question: I recall when flying Hueys and Kiowas some time ago, a mate (not me, honest) starting a Huey with the tie down still on. Managed to get airborne (I think it just straightened the hook), no damage to engine (T53 L13-B), transmission or blades......However, tie down still attached to stinger, which very soon got tangled with tail rotor which DID cause a problem!!! Pride and Huey damaged, but no people hurt .... and to make it worse, he had a cabload of Journos onboard....
That was the normal way of starting any of the military twin turbine Wessexes (Wessi?). The port engine could be disengaged from the drive train and it was normal to start that way in "Accessory Drive". Port engine then becomes world's most expensive APU, but can then get hydraulica and electrics etc on line before rotor start (hyds particularly important!). Starboard engine then started with rotor brake on, some torque set, and rotor started. Port engine then coupled into "Main Drive". Very complicated but it all worked ... used to take baby student pilots about 45 mins to start on their first few attempts though.
Back to the original question: I recall when flying Hueys and Kiowas some time ago, a mate (not me, honest) starting a Huey with the tie down still on. Managed to get airborne (I think it just straightened the hook), no damage to engine (T53 L13-B), transmission or blades......However, tie down still attached to stinger, which very soon got tangled with tail rotor which DID cause a problem!!! Pride and Huey damaged, but no people hurt .... and to make it worse, he had a cabload of Journos onboard....
Ascend Charlie....
I beg to differ....any really experienced helicopter pilot would never do what you suggest. At my experience level....they would have to have bullhorns for me to hear them!
I beg to differ....any really experienced helicopter pilot would never do what you suggest. At my experience level....they would have to have bullhorns for me to hear them!
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Bell resurrects LongRanger
Bell resurrects LongRanger line
Production at Forth Worth factory taken out of mothballs, following 14-aircraft order from Offshore Logistics group
Bell has re-opened the production line for the 206L-4 LongRanger IV following a joint 14-aircraft order from companies within the Offshore Logistics (OLOG) group. Bell had mothballed the line at its Fort Worth, Texas, factory in July after taking the decision in early 2002 to concentrate on 407 sales.
Bell says workers from other lines will be used to restart production of the single-engined light helicopter and the first aircraft will be delivered to Lafayette, Louisiana-based OLOG in May next year. OLOG, which includes Air Logistics, is understood to have specified the LongRanger over the 407 for its deal, due to a list price that was 20% lower.
"The LongRanger and the 407 are complementary, with the 407's extra 15-20kt [30-40km/h] not needed on shorter legs," says Alan Moffatt, Bell European marketing director.
The 407 was developed from the LongRanger IV, with a four-blade rotor and a 815shp (605kW) Rolls-Royce 250-C47 derated to 400shp, providing 450kg (1,000lb) extra external load.
The cabin on the 407 is also 178mm (7in) wider than that of the Bell 206 series it had been designed to replace. Bell is understood to have taken the decision to re-open the production line after 10 months after substantial pressure from OLOG for the cheaper helicopter. Bell says there are no logistical problems in restarting production.
Bell says it has five additional customers for the LongRanger from the offshore, VIP and law enforcement sectors. The line is now sold out for 2004 and 2005, says Moffatt. Sales for the 407 are expected to be around "four or five short" of the target of 50 helicopters, already revised down from 1997's high of 140 aircraft.
Bell is also expecting "double digit" demand for the 430 intermediate twin over the next few months to offshore oil transportation companies in West Africa and the Gulf of Mexico serving "long, thin legs", says Moffatt.
Production at Forth Worth factory taken out of mothballs, following 14-aircraft order from Offshore Logistics group
Bell has re-opened the production line for the 206L-4 LongRanger IV following a joint 14-aircraft order from companies within the Offshore Logistics (OLOG) group. Bell had mothballed the line at its Fort Worth, Texas, factory in July after taking the decision in early 2002 to concentrate on 407 sales.
Bell says workers from other lines will be used to restart production of the single-engined light helicopter and the first aircraft will be delivered to Lafayette, Louisiana-based OLOG in May next year. OLOG, which includes Air Logistics, is understood to have specified the LongRanger over the 407 for its deal, due to a list price that was 20% lower.
"The LongRanger and the 407 are complementary, with the 407's extra 15-20kt [30-40km/h] not needed on shorter legs," says Alan Moffatt, Bell European marketing director.
The 407 was developed from the LongRanger IV, with a four-blade rotor and a 815shp (605kW) Rolls-Royce 250-C47 derated to 400shp, providing 450kg (1,000lb) extra external load.
The cabin on the 407 is also 178mm (7in) wider than that of the Bell 206 series it had been designed to replace. Bell is understood to have taken the decision to re-open the production line after 10 months after substantial pressure from OLOG for the cheaper helicopter. Bell says there are no logistical problems in restarting production.
Bell says it has five additional customers for the LongRanger from the offshore, VIP and law enforcement sectors. The line is now sold out for 2004 and 2005, says Moffatt. Sales for the 407 are expected to be around "four or five short" of the target of 50 helicopters, already revised down from 1997's high of 140 aircraft.
Bell is also expecting "double digit" demand for the 430 intermediate twin over the next few months to offshore oil transportation companies in West Africa and the Gulf of Mexico serving "long, thin legs", says Moffatt.
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Teeteringhead, come to think of it I wrote a fan letter to Bristows at about the same time in the seventies and they sent me a Wessex checklist (the flip-over type on laminated card). Haven't looked at it in decades (should send it to the Heli Museum in Weston really) but I remember the line 'Rotor Brake Off and Latched - check rotor rpm increasing'.
Bell is also expecting "double digit" demand for the 430 intermediate twin over the next few months to offshore oil transportation companies in West Africa and the Gulf of Mexico serving "long, thin legs", says Moffatt.
Tis funny how people keep thinking that you can build a better mousetrap. Good to see the old girl back in production. Just proves you can't keep a good design down...for long.
Wessex & Sea King (Westland version) are both started with rotor brake on, for #1 & 2 engines, r/brake only coming "Off" after second engine start. Interestingly, both check lists have "rotor brake - On, 320psi min" as the first check, pre starting No 2 engine.
S76 can be started with the rotor brake on or off, pilot's option, according to my check lists.
Re the Bell 206 rotor blade position, I prefer not to have them all the way round to 90 degrees, about 20 degrees off fore & aft put them in sight, but shows the tie down to be removed.
Further to the Sea King rotor brake, bear in mind that the brake would also be applied to sequence the blade folding post shut down #1, with #2 in Accessory Drive.
The earlier reference to 'an expensive APU', I had to refuel an S61 in a remote WA location, and asked the refueller if he'd mind us keeping No 1 running, with the rotor brake on, during refuel. "absolutely not, no way, etc etc".
"How about the APU, then?"
"OK, that's fine....."
S76 can be started with the rotor brake on or off, pilot's option, according to my check lists.
Re the Bell 206 rotor blade position, I prefer not to have them all the way round to 90 degrees, about 20 degrees off fore & aft put them in sight, but shows the tie down to be removed.
Further to the Sea King rotor brake, bear in mind that the brake would also be applied to sequence the blade folding post shut down #1, with #2 in Accessory Drive.
The earlier reference to 'an expensive APU', I had to refuel an S61 in a remote WA location, and asked the refueller if he'd mind us keeping No 1 running, with the rotor brake on, during refuel. "absolutely not, no way, etc etc".
"How about the APU, then?"
"OK, that's fine....."
PF....you must reassess your standards.....ever set an MBB 105 next to a Jetranger and compared the differences in engineering?
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The 407 is fine as long as the tailboom stays on. We've put sheetmetal repairmen in the field full time to keep up with the cracks. That thing wasn't ready for prime-time.
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Ahh.... Let's correct at least one thing.... The 206L-4 production line and tooling all reside at Bell's Mirabel facility (North-west of Montreal, Canada). All Bell's commercial aircraft are built in Canada. I think it's safe to say that L-4s will not be rolling off an assembly line in Fort Worth. (Although Bell is reputed for changing its mind frequently - I think that one's pretty safe.)
I also think that it is somewhat unfair to refer to the production line as "mothballed" and "resurrected". Although the line may have been on a bit of a hiatus (due to inventory I'd suspect), the 'L-4 has never left the ranks of Bell's active products.
Check the website:
http://www.bellhelicopter.com/aircraft/commercial/
(It was not retired, like say the 205, 212, 222, or 230.)
I also think that it is somewhat unfair to refer to the production line as "mothballed" and "resurrected". Although the line may have been on a bit of a hiatus (due to inventory I'd suspect), the 'L-4 has never left the ranks of Bell's active products.
Check the website:
http://www.bellhelicopter.com/aircraft/commercial/
(It was not retired, like say the 205, 212, 222, or 230.)
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Longranger headroom; aka Ow my neck
A question all of those guys and gals who are either tallish or long in the body.
We've become the proud owners of a longranger, however some of our pilots are having a real problem getting their head out the door space, while wearing a helmet, when doing sling work. It seems that the normal seat base is to high for them. Has anyone else run into this problem and what have you done to remedy it. Personally I think the boss should just give me all the sling work, as I'm 5'10" so it doesn't bother me.
We've become the proud owners of a longranger, however some of our pilots are having a real problem getting their head out the door space, while wearing a helmet, when doing sling work. It seems that the normal seat base is to high for them. Has anyone else run into this problem and what have you done to remedy it. Personally I think the boss should just give me all the sling work, as I'm 5'10" so it doesn't bother me.
What you complaining about, Helical?? You've gone from a PretendRanger to a Real Ranger, you don't need water methanol to take off, you don't need to worry about the TOT all the time, and you moan about head room? Some people are never satisfied.....
You took the woolly seats out of Bella to get more headroom, and have already worn through the the seat fabric with somebody's big bum.
Give the jobs to the short guy.
You took the woolly seats out of Bella to get more headroom, and have already worn through the the seat fabric with somebody's big bum.
Give the jobs to the short guy.
B206 Cpt ?
Anyone know if such a beast exists in the UK ? And if so where and how much they are (to rent) ?
I want to get a head start on the 206 type rating, and the spectre of hot starts, overtemping, overtorqueing and the subsequent large bills seems to be looming large . . .
I want to get a head start on the 206 type rating, and the spectre of hot starts, overtemping, overtorqueing and the subsequent large bills seems to be looming large . . .
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If you don't find it . . . . .
don't worry.
The 206 must be one of the easiest, "foolproof" helicopters there are to operate, few bad habits, predictable, good handling.
Don't worry, just enjoy.
The 206 must be one of the easiest, "foolproof" helicopters there are to operate, few bad habits, predictable, good handling.
Don't worry, just enjoy.