Bell 505 Jet Ranger X

[500e]

There you go vaqueroaero
#379 (permalink)
Saturday & the wife's on Holiday

[Spunk]

If “500” is the correct number than you should contact your “connections” at Bell and tell him to replace their product specifications (february 2017) which can be downloaded here:PDF
On page 31 it states:
Part number sls-030-800-005 landing gear SLL = 3000 FH / 18.000 SRIN
🤔

[bellblade2014]

Originally Posted by Spunk

If “500” is the correct number than you should contact your “connections” at Bell and tell him to replace their product specifications (february 2017) which can be downloaded here:PDF
On page 31 it states:
Part number sls-030-800-005 landing gear SLL = 3000 FH / 18.000 SRIN
🤔

As was stated many times earlier in the thread, I’ve had lots of good discussions with the Chief Engineer on the program and several well connected folks in the design team. The life limits are all based on aggressive and slow fatigue testing that cycles all of these components through the worst conditions ever seen in flight testing and then amplified by 150-300% to accelerate the testing. Some of the tests still take 2-3 years to complete because of the complicated loads that need to be applied to meet today’s regulations. None of the other helicopters on the market were certified to these requirements.

All of the retirement lives are temporary and growing every day. The engineers indicated many of the published lives are expected to double or triple or go away entirely in the years to come. With zero design changes. We just have to wait for testing to complete.

[bellblade2014]

Also, separate topic... I was able to ride up to 125 kts with with 4 pac on at very low vibe from my perspective. It felt like most of my R66 and 206L rides. One of my rides I was in front left seat and it was not quite as comfy vibration as a L model, but I much prefer the visibility and the much more spacious area. I prefer the 505 to the L3 and L4 longrangers for the overall package.

[vaqueroaero]

If “500” is the correct number than you should contact your “connections” at Bell and tell him to replace their product specifications (february 2017) which can be downloaded here:PDF
On page 31 it states:
Part number sls-030-800-005 landing gear SLL = 3000 FH / 18.000 SRIN
��

Thanks for posting that, it appears that they have, obviously, substantially 'upped' the number. I was told the 500 number quite a while ago by numerous Bell employees, including someone in sales.

I certainly don't want to see it fail, the useful load numbers make it look pretty appealing for use in the agricultural sector, where range and endurance aren't quite so important.

[Aluminium Mallard]

Would someone that has some decent hours in jetties and longies please fly one and post an honest review.

The 206 is the landcruiser of the sky down here in oz. Super reliable delivers over and above whats on the box.

The 206L running gear and transmissions in a light weight modern body is win and win.

FH1100 just cant help digging yourself in deeper and deeper.
"It is pure fantasy to think that people are going to be zooming around at 125 knots in their 505, drag-racing 407's."
Most longies would get close to those numbers flying around at the 505's weight... pure fantasy I think not.

[exwessex]

Has anyone heard of the rundown time for the arrius engine- do you still have to wait out 2 minutes?!

[Ian Corrigible]

From a couple of pages back:

Originally Posted by FLY 7

No 2 min cool down

Bell 505 Jet Ranger X

[nigelh]

Well 19th March will be the day the first 505 gets registered in the UK 🇬🇧 and demos etc on 21st !!
Did anyone get to try it out at Vegas ?? My daughter was there but sadly they cancelled a day flying due to high winds .....and it was fully booked with demos ! The word so far seems mainly excellent...some don’t like the looks bit personally I think it looks cool 😎. Certainly in comparison to a R66 , Enstrom 480 .
I just want power, comfort , reliability and economic...that’s all !!

[Mee3]

no cool down means they will soon have a puncture.

[Helicopterdriverguy]

NIGEL
According to the CAA There are 2 x. 505 already registered GJRXI and GDONE

[muermel]

Originally Posted by nigelh

Well 19th March will be the day the first 505 gets registered in the UK 🇬🇧 and demos etc on 21st !!
Did anyone get to try it out at Vegas ?? My daughter was there but sadly they cancelled a day flying due to high winds .....and it was fully booked with demos ! The word so far seems mainly excellent...some don’t like the looks bit personally I think it looks cool 😎. Certainly in comparison to a R66 , Enstrom 480 .
I just want power, comfort , reliability and economic...that’s all !!

I flew withy my boss and 2 other guys plus the Bell pilot. Took off vertically out of the parking lot with 5 men in it, 80 % fuel AND power to spare, that was nice. Highest speed we got to was around 115 KTS and you could feel the vibrations increasing noticeably from 110 onwards. It was windy that day (we flew on Tuesday morning at around 11 am). The pinneacle approach we flew north of the city was a nonevent, again good power margin in the end.

My boss has around 1200 hours in 206 B3, 206L1, L2 & L4 and said it flew exactly like the L4, with the same vibrations building after 110 KTS so in his opinion it woun't do 125+ KTS comfortably and I don't think it would either.

Also the interior was nonexistent with bare glasfibre doors, no carpet, no panels around the rotor brake (I actually asked the Bell pilot if this was a pre-production modell with so much bare areas in the back and the big opening with visible cables etc. around the rotor brake). His comment was that you could get all that as aftermarket parts.

I know that our customer bought one 2 years ago and sold it (with a small profit) a month ago because of exactly those things.
In the end it was 1.3 Mio. Euros, no carpets, no door panels, big hole in the overhead panel and mostly Bell's surcharge policy of charging 6000.00 $ for each door opener (2 of them on the machine!!), 19,000.00 $ for a standby ASI & TAS (no way around that as they're mandatory!).
Funny enough we only got the info about the door openers and ASI/ TAS because 6 month before scheduled production date of the machine we asked about a revised options list.
They didn't think it was important to ask if we wanted any other options on the machine. And you still have to go off to buy aftermarket parts to make it look halfway decent on the inside after you had it delivered.

He's now keeping his EC 120 which will get it's 15 years inspection next winter plus new paint and interior

I think it has a good power margin (better than the EC 120) but is not as fast (cruising speed) and smooth and it also looks like a budget helicopter from the inside. If you want a good priced entry level turbine, buy a 66. If you want a quality helicopter buy a 120.

[nigelh]

That doesn’t seem correct to me .... I am paying 200,000 Euro less for mine and it has loads of extras incl carpets , rotor brake and damper !
Also I have now spoken to three people who have cruised around 125 with no real vibration.... maybe the one you went in didn’t have the damper ??

[chopper2004]

Heli Expo 2018 my photos Part 1

At the crack of dawn just as the cockatoo and sun rose, one was invited courtesy of Bell to KVGT for demo flight in either the 505 or 429. Luck as it was I ended up in the latter.

So here are my photos of both 505 on the ramp (I took some of the take off shots of the 505 while inside the 429) on the first day of the show. N505TL is in the new logo while N505FW in the old

Cheers

[chopper2004]

Heli Expo 2018 my photos Part 2

And from the departure of N505CD which was on static inside.

Cheers

[GoodGrief]

That is one ugly aircraft. With that new logo on the nose it looks like it comes straight back from Vietnam...

[bellblade2014]

Originally Posted by nigelh

That doesn’t seem correct to me .... I am paying 200,000 Euro less for mine and it has loads of extras incl carpets , rotor brake and damper !
Also I have now spoken to three people who have cruised around 125 with no real vibration.... maybe the one you went in didn’t have the damper ??

My thoughts exactly... my demo was faster than that and was very smooth up to 115 kts IAS and when we got to 127kts, it felt about like my last ride in a jet ranger at 110 kts or so.... that was in the front left seat of the 505. I got to ride in the front left and back right seats... back right was awesome ride and hardly any vibe at any speed. Just the front seemed to be shaky north of 115.

The comment about the interior is true about being sparse, but i found it no more sparse than the AS350’s or utility configured jet rangers. Corporate versions I’m sure will be very different.

[BigMike]

Maybe it will look better on high skid gear...
Is that an option?

[FH1100 Pilot]

My thoughts exactly... my demo was faster than that and was very smooth up to 115 kts IAS and when we got to 127kts, it felt about like my last ride in a jet ranger at 110 kts or so.... that was in the front left seat of the 505. I got to ride in the front left and back right seats... back right was awesome ride and hardly any vibe at any speed. Just the front seemed to be shaky north of 115.

...Said the Bell salesman. And salesmen always tell the truth, don't they!

So far, we've had a number of written reports (two of them published) that the 505 gets really rough above 110 knots. Then we have Nigelh, who denies those reports and believes that they must be wrong. Nigel's (so far) uneducated opinion is backed-up by a Bell employee.

But wait! I know that y'all accuse ol' FH1100 pilot of being totally biased and anti-Bell (and perhaps an idiot). But that's just not the case (well, except for the idiot part - of that I must plead guilty).

So in the interest of objectivity, let's give the 505 the benefit of the doubt. Maybe all three reports of a rough ride above 110 knots...maybe they all flew in the same demo aircraft? And maybe that aircraft did/does not yet have the extra Frahm damper installed in the fuselage? And maybe Hermann Frahm's damper works exceedingly well in the 505? Hey, stranger things have happened.

On the other hand...Bell would have to be insanely stupid to give people demo rides in an aircraft that was not representative of what's coming off the assembly lines. Unless that Frahm damper is *optional*...

[toptobottom]

SO ugly! 1960s machine in a not so posh frock