Bell 206: JetRanger and LongRanger

[tecpilot]

I´m looking for a good and well cultivated Jet Ranger immediately to buy. Europe based prefered. Any hints on PM. Thanks

[r44hopeful]

206 marathon

wow 1022 its taken me a whole day shift to get through, thanks boss, this search has been most informative i now feel i could just jump in a 206 an circumnavigate the world( as long as i had a lap top to cross ref when something went down, hopefully not me in it) thanks alot u guys for a great read

[HOSS 1]

Maximum No-Fly Storage Time without Preservation

Hello,

The company I work for has a "pet" 206L, that rarely flies. They keep up with the annuals and all inspections / maint. However, the sad fact is the thing almost never flies. And, it has been that way for the past 15 years.

I have been tasked with flying the thing for 30 minutes every "month, or so". The "or so" part often ends up being two months.

So my question is, what is the longest we should go between flights for the sake of the machine? I know in the military there are requirements to preserve some components if the machine is not flown. The helo is kept indoors, of course.

Thanks for your help.

HOSS

[perfrej]

Every now and then...

The figure "every 14 days" pops up in my head, but I may be wrong. I try to fly the JetRanger of a friend of mine every 14 days to not have to do any conservation on it.

/p

[K48]

wind limits

120 Tq

Direct from an Aircraft Operators supplement I found online by Piezon Enterprises for TH67 (I believe):
"The helicopter can be started in a maximum wind velocity of 45 knots and a maximum gust spread of 15 knots."

It goes on:
"Maximum wind for hovering is 35 knots crosswind and 30 knots tailwind"

Seems high to me.....

[The Nr Fairy]

Well, a quick spot turn - intentional or not - should sort out the crosswind/downwind limit !

[Phoinix]

I've been wondering the other day, what is the cause for Jetranger low frequency vibrations, propably MR induced, when on ground idle with wind present. I've been tought to reposition the cyclic stick into the wind and the vibrations should go away. Sometimes they go away, but sometimes no matter what you do with the cyclic, nothing helps.

What is the cause of these vibrations? Maybe the lift is produced only on one side of the rotor disc inducing "hoping" vibrations?

Thanks

[Gomer Pylot]

I think it's a complicated interaction between the wind, the rotor wash, and the balance. The easiest way to reduce the bounce is to pull just a little collective. How much is hard to say, you just have to find the sweet spot. It's usually much less than an inch.

[MR BLOHM]

206 Jock

Just seen your picture of the freewheel aft bearing housing.
The spline grease you see accumulated has been known to affect the PA Air vent on the FCU (may cause blockage, restriction ). For this reason (and I am open to correction, its been a while since i worked on a 206) it is recommended that any excess grease is cleaned off after greasing. This is assuming of course that your engine is fitted with a Bendix fuel control system.The PA vent is the circular mesh screen about 1 inch in diameter with a single split pin locking it in place. I think it is visible on the top right hand side of your photo. Even if the excess grease been cleaned some grease can still migrate for a few hours of flying. For this reason I allways had a cloth at hand while doing my check A just to give the area a quick clean and allways had a look at the vent for grease contamination.

Mr Blohm (Ex-206 mech.)

[206 jock]

Thanks Mr Blohm! Good issue to point out.

Does anyone have an insight into what is permissible maintenance that can be carried out on an N-reg 206, by the pilot? I recall that pilots can be trained to do the 50 hour airframe regrease, for example. What about the 90 day corrosion inspection?

It's not that I'm a tight-wad when it comes to paying but I'd quite like to know a bit more about 'what goes on', and it would save me flying the thing to maintenance shops. And having my todger pulled by engineers.

Northern Lights College offer a 12 hour 206 PM course, but they don't seem to have any scheduled? Anybody been/is it worth it/does it apply to N-reg's?

[Oldlae]

The CAA site is worth looking at, click on publications and search for CAP412 Light Aircraft Maintenance Schedule (Helicopters) scroll down to Section 5 para 2 which refers you to the relevant Air Navigation Order reference.

[206 jock]

Oldlae, thanks, but I'm pretty sure that the CAA regs will say @the pilot cannot touch anything'! However, as I understand it, the FAA takes a more prgmatic view of pilot maintenance on N-reg's: it's their view that I'm after?

[Oldlae]

206jock,
Don't assume, check.
It all depends on which register you are on.

[206 jock]

N-reg. It's on the N-Reg. It's an N-reg helicopter. Maintained to N-reg schedules.

I hope that's clear

[Gomer Pylot]

If you're following FARs, is the helicopter operated under Part 91 or Part 135? It makes a difference. For non-commercial operations, see Part 43. Basically, a pilot can perform preventive maintenance only, and only on aircraft not operated commercially. Part 135 pilots can perform preventive maintenance or maintenance items approved in the company's ops specs, after documented training.

[Oldlae]

206jock,
Sorry, didn't RTFQ.

[Choppersquad]

Bell Jetranger 206L3 v 206L4

Guys
Can you give me your advice on the L3 v the L4

power
speed
running cost
price
resale value
is it worth the extra cost.
I know i can find the spec on the web but i am looking for advice from someone who has flown the two machines.

thanks.
choppersquad.

[TJF97]

Differences training?

Under JAA, does it have to be an instructor who conducts the differences training for the Longranger? I've already got a Jetranger type rating, I was speaking to someone about the differences training and they seemed to think it could be done by another CPL??

TJF97

[2001ft]

Went up in a 206 JetRanger today for first time with a friend, great smooth ride

However when he dropped me off after a coffee he started the engines and black "smoke" seemed to "pop" (no sound) from the exhaust just as rotors started turning. No unusual sounds etc, but he said the engine had started quite hot.

Is this something he should be concerned about or quite common?

[tomstheword]

No big deal

More than likely the engine gearbox breather spat some oil into the exhaust, happens everynow and then and you get little puffs of black smoke.