Bell 427
 

Does anyone know how many 427s have been delivered yet?

According to the Bell site, there should be some out and about by now but I have not heard or read any feedback about how they are performing etc except what Bell have stated about them.
Are they being used for any particular role?

I’m also interested in how the new PW207 engines perform as well as their maintainability.

I notice there is an info letter on the rotor blades contacting an aux. fin

http://www.bellcustomer.com/files/St...0427-00-01.pdf

According to the Transport Canada site 5 have been exported so far.
Last I heard the PHI machine is still in Arlington . Not sure why it isn't operating yet , no certified floats maybe.

I hope the 427 doesn't have the same T/R and Tail Boom problems associated with the 407.

widgeon: Thanks for that info. I tried the Transport Canada site but cannot find the page.


407 Driver: Has the 427 been derived from the 407 design? After reading the Just Helicopters forum, I would hope not! It seems the 427 only has a problem with the main rotor and the larger type Aux. Fin. http://www.pprune.org/ubb/NonCGI/eek.gif (Ref IL 427-00-01)

With the 407 that had ‘an uncommanded left pedal hardover’, (early 1999)??? AD CF-98-36R3 dated:Mar 5, 1999 and also Ref: Emerg. AD 2001-01-52 dated: Jan 10, 2001; did investigators find the cause of the hardover?
This apparently happened just before the T/R struck the tail boom.

http://www.tc.gc.ca/aviation/general...ts/ex1100e.htm


Just change the month in the last part to view other months.
Interesting the s/n of the last one exported was 56021 , means there must be 16 or so gathering dust somewhere.

Bell 427
 

Any one know what is new with the program?, as far as I can see http://www.tc.gc.ca/aviation/general...ts/ex0601e.htm s/n up to 28 have been exported from Canada as of June. I saw an article that one had been sold ( delivered ?) to a customer in South America . There was also talk of orders from Korea . The TC data sheet ( R00001RC)was approved in November 2000 are there any US orders.

On a recent visit to ACRO I saw that they had two in the hangar that they were fitting out for a Jap customer. They had already shipped two there and were from what I understand being operated already. I have tried to get info from Bell but as normal, no response.

http://member.nifty.ne.jp/AircraftJ/01Jun_e.htm

Thanks Mr Pac rotors , above link is Japanese register changes by month , 56020 ,reg JA009W , registered to Mitsui Bussan.

I am suprised Bell do not give more publicity on their sales . From all reports I have read it is a capable machine with very competitive DOC's.

Bell 427s
 

Has anyone heard where the numerous Bell 427s are that are out there somewhere. Heard there are a couple in the Philippines and one in Bahrain but thats all so far.

2 on japan registry , I have seen pictures of a UK reg one , maybe just a demo . Most on US register all registered to Bell.

There are no 427s in the UK and there has never been one on the UK register. The UK has seen demo 427s in the country for Farnborough 2000 and Helitech 2001 only.

427s are currently operating in China, Bahrain, Canada, US, Taiwan, The Philippines, Brazil, Japan, Israel, Greece, Denmark.

CTD

If that is BV drop me an email. ;)

Wow, if 427s are operating in that many countries, then wouldn't you expect Bell to be shouting about it with a press release? :confused:

Perhaps some of those are demo aircraft??

None of them are demo aircraft. Bahrain Police have theirs working hard and I know the ones in Manilla are working hard as well. Not sure about the others.

Correct, the demonstrators are extra to what I posted.

Bell to stretch 427
 

Rumor has it that Bell will show a "stretched" version of its slow selling 427 twin at the 2004 Heli Expo in Las Vegas.

A fuselage plug has been put in behind the cockpit giving more room in the cabin and the change to an all forward facing seating arrangement.

The 427 has been a slow seller in the Gulf of Mexico, the most likely offshore market, with no operators currently signing up for the aircraft. While there was a 427 in PHI colors at the show 3 or 4 years ago, the company never took delivery of the aircraft since no flotation system had been certified.

Other light twins, like the EC135 and MD902 have also failed to penetrate the GOM market and Bell believes that this still gives them the potential of a market share when the GOM operators start to look for light twin helicopters.

HH:cool:

What are they going to call a stretched 427 ? The Long27 ? 430 ?

And if it's only a JetRanger but bigger, will it be suitable for low time pilots in a SPIFR role ? :D

I also believe that one reason that they are doing the extension is for EMS. Currently the aircraft cabin is too short to accomadate a litter. It will also be interesting to see what else they have to do as it uses the same basic dynamic rotor components of the 407 but because of the higher weight of the additional engine has a higher disk loading which has hurt performance. I also understand that since it has only one hydralic system that it can not be certified for SPIFR, only dual pilot. It is a good looking ship, so hopefully they can get things straightened out.

I know where they got the idea
 

Just check out this link here, I did post this pic last year under the topic "now the s-92 have a serious competitor" who would have thought they would take it so seriously

http://homepage.mac.com/helipilot/PP...ngrangerSM.jpg

I feel they should hire me for this project :}

Rotorrokkie I think your idea is great. BELL needs someone up there to sort them out. But why stretch a 427? Why not look to the 430 on skids and rethinking all that heavy internal stuff. Upgrading the avionics, throwing out the very heavy seats and internal fittings, using carbon composites where possible and then you'd have a really nice ship with range and a good payload.

We liked the 430 on skids but didn't buy one because it's too damm heavy to start with

Oddly, the original 427 development aircraft came to the UK for recreating into the stretched mockup for HAI. A contact of mine tracked it through LHR airfrieght on 7th December, with the paperwork showing Lutterworth nr Leicester as the destination - and it left LHR by road on 8th. Who is there that would do this work?

But it still raises questions to me, because of the cost of airfreight two ways and the fact that UK is very expensive to US companies at the moment.

Nr Fairy > The name "Bell 427XP" was also quoted on the paperwork, although the aircraft itself still carried the standard "Bell 427" name.

Can anyone explain the Bell numbering system?

Sure, the Model 30 and 47 may have just been the sequence of drawings on pieces of paper, but how did the rest of them evolve?

204 - B model Iroquois. 2 blades, turbine model number 4
205 - d, h models and the civvy version, progressing by one
206 - well, at least the number follows, but the machine is much smaller
212 - maybe 2 blades, 2 engines?
412 - ah hah! Logic! 4 blades, 2 engines
214 - ooops... lost it again. Maybe 2 blades, 1 engine, 4 dozen of them sold to the Shah of Iran.
407 - 4 blades, and 1 model later than a 206?
427 - 4 blades, 2 engines, 7 pob ?
690 - oh, boy - 6 blades - YES! 9 passengers? - maybe.. 0 hope? definitely.:bored:

There are a few more models hidden in the works...

Bell 207 Kiowa Warrior
Bell 209 Cobra series
Bell 406 Kiowa Scout

Let us not forget:

Model 61: Bell's proposed tandem rotor anti-submarine helicopter (1953).

Model 201: An experimental Army H-13 with a Continental XT51 turbine engine (merely a license-built Turbomeca Artouste) in 1955.

Model 533: Modified model 204 with wings, two Continental J-69 engines on either side of the fuselage, and a variable-tilt rotor mast! (1962)

Model 207: This lookalike predecessor of the AH-1 series was actually based on the model 47/H-13 powertrain and airframe (1963)

Model 309: KingCobra (1971).

Model 409: The 409/YAH-63 was Bell's competitive entry to the AAH (Advanced Attack Helicopter) competition won by the Hughes AH-64 Apache.

Model 222: Two-blade, twin-engine, civilian (no military counterpart) executive transport (1974).

Model 230: Basically a 222 with Allison C-30's instead of the awful Lycoming LTS-101's. (1991)

Model 430: Longer cabin, four-blade version of the 230 and specifically designed for shipboard operations by a single, very low-time pilot. (1994)

Model 406: Basically a 206B (short) airframe with a four-blade rotor. More popularly known as the OH-58D. (1983)

Model 400 Twin Ranger: Fugly-looking four-blade 206L (narrow-cabin) with a ring tail back end and two Allison C-20R's. (1983)

And those were just some of the ones that they actually built.

I thought the 47 had something to do with the year it was originally produced

Overpitched:Many people assume so. And we have to ask: Did Larry Bell "jump" from the Model 30 to the Model 47 to coincide with his intended year of certification (like Sikorsky did later with the S-76)? It's possible.

History does record that Bell was messing around with the Model 30 as early as 1943. The Model 30 was readied for "mass production" as the Model 47, and the first "Bell 47" flew in December of 1945. Production actually began in 1946, and of course the first commercial helicopter type certificate was issued to the 47 on March 8, 1946. So were there actually 16 different experimental models between the Model 30 and Model 47? It would appear not!

It must have been an incredible, hectic time at the Bell factory in the years immediately following WWII. Because also in 1946, Bell wanted to produce a larger version of the Model 47. They called it the Model 42. You can look at a picture and read about it here:
http://avia.russian.ee/~star/vertigo/bell_42-r.html

Five seats and a Wright R-985 radial behind the back seats? And you thought a 47 was noisy! And how 'bout that very R-44ish profile, eh? And three-blade tail rotor?? Without a civilian market, Bell must've said, "Hey, let's put a P&W 1340 in it and see if we can sell the damn thing to the Air Force!" The Model 42 then morphed into the Model 48/XR-12, also in 1946.

As the five-seat original Model 42/48 was not successful either for the civilian or military markets, it was apparently the Air Force that spurred the development of the Model 48A, a larger version designed to carry up to 10 people. And if you look closely at both the Model 42/48 and the Model 48A, you can clearly see the basis for what would later become the Model 204/YH-40/HU-1.

Man, I would've loved to have been around Bell in 1945. I guess I was just born too late :( What were those times like, Lu?

Having done some of the certification flying on the 427, I can say with some assurance that the single engine performance of the machine was pretty amazing. The single hydraulic system was a bit of disappointment, although Bell's VFR fix made it easier than a Bell 206 to land hydraulics off - it was not suitable for IFR.
Stretching it will help for the EMS market, but Bell needs to do something to make it a total package - single pilot IFR, Category A out of the box as standard would help. Needs an AFCS for IFR.
Digital fuel controls were excellent.
And the pre-start checks need to be made automatic- it's not as slick as the EC-135 to get going. Still stuck in the mid-60's in terms of cockpit interface. And a bit more legroom in the cockpit, please.
Hope they get it right this time.

Bell 427...opinions?
 

A company down here is considering buying a 427 for Charter and EMS work.
Any thoughts about this machine? Good or bad?

TIMTS
Your still trying to get away from that Robbie............Ha Ha
Sure the 427 is a good aircraft, also good because your at Sea Level.
Hill Construction has one in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Talk to their Pilot Bill Duncan. http://www.hillconstruction.com/default.asp
Being your in St Martin, I assume the need for a twin is Night etc. Have you considered the EC-135??

Bell 427
 

Follks - interested to get views/experiences/thoughts on ownership, flying and maintenance please

427
 

We operate 8 of these fine little workhorses and while a bit feisty to handle they are a very capable and robust machine.
Very simple (for a twin) to operate. Fantastic P&W engines that give it OEI capability that has to be seen to be believed!!:ooh:
You'll love the IIDS display. Very easy to read.
The only ongoing problems are moisture in a connection causing false caution messages and gen brushes wearing quickly.
Bell are working on both issues. In fact I think the gen problem has been solved.
We had 1 blade with a delamination issue.
Make sure you install the 28 amp battery.
Ventilation in the rear cabin could be better.
DD

427
 

And of course I forgot to mention the idle stop solenoids.
At USD5,000 each. :{

DD

Thanks DD, much appreciated

Bell 427 maintenance
 

The B427 is a good Sea level ship and does not give much trouble at all mechanically.
It has a few bugs with the triple switch and electrics in wet weather.
Our machines are flying an average of four hours a day without hassles
:D

I read that there's a company in the Czech Republic using them for medevac.
Anyone know how they're holding up in this type of operation?
Also, does anyone have much info on the company in the Czrch Republic? I can't remember the name.

The company is called Alfa Helicopter.

http://www.alfahelicopter.cz


http://www.alfahelicopter.cz/images/foto/foto10-big.jpg

And one of the pilots is a ppruner...

FYI, the guy is BigMike.

Although I've got a feeling that he is now an Alfa 'ex'-pilot.


HTH

He is... great bunch of people to work for, and a very nice helicopter to fly, with only a few little glitchs as mentioned. Works well as an EMS machine with its size and speed great for first response EMS. The company has 4 429's on order.

Current ride...

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a3/.../search-mr.jpg


http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a3/...tershed-pb.jpg