Shame to see old kit being phased out...
 

Hi there,

just wanted to see if I am the only one who is bothered about oldtimers being phased out slowly.

I still love to fly the old BO 105 every time - or the 206 for that matter.

Does it not seem quite a shame that they are likely to die soon (in Europe that is)?

Or am I just not adapting to the new era properly?

Our company had all of Bell's Finest and now we have to put up with all the EC crap. Not a single Bell in the Hangar anymore. I probably would sound different if they would put their craft together right and customer service from this company would be worth being called it's name.

So am I alone with my romantic feelings about all the classics like 206s, Boelkows and Lamas or can I just not accept that the days of this kit are over?

(I am not even that old to start with...);)

Keep your rotors in the green!

You sentimental fool, you. (Sigh.)

Am I really?

You might have realised that I was looking for other 'sentimental fools' ;).

We all Know that developments cannot be stopped. But are the new machines really the better ones? As to EC kit see initial post above...

I agree totally that we have some very good new stuff out there but you see none of my cars is younger than 15 years either.

When was Bell's new light single due again?

Irony, WSPS. And sentimentality.

All of us "old timers" are being phased out...some not so slowly either.

Well I still like to see the "old-timers" flying ;) :ok:

At least a 105 looks like a 105! All the EC range to me are like Ford Mondeos and Vauxhall Vectras - can't tell 'em apart.

I also drive a 1963 Series III Sunbeam Alpine. Still reliable, easy to maintain, gets looks of admiration ( and sadly, it IS the car that gets the looks!), and is fun to drive. I'm sure the corollary is true for the "classic" helicopters!

Cheers

Whirls

Got you there Farmer...

Why has Bell been so late in catching up?

Have they really diverted all their resources to develop the 609?

Mind you, they hopefully have some more good things in the pipeline.

Meanwhile, I will continue to enjoy my German 105-tractor further.

I agree with you Whirly. I just don't fancy the EC family. But I will get used to it. Have to - flying them all day...:{

By the way - Merry X-mas to all of you!

I do have a wee bit of affection for some of the old Bell's....noisy, drafty, hay wagon sort of things they are. One thing for sure....you can see heads turn when you show up with the last one I flew....usually with hands over their ears.

Funnily enough, I was thinking of something along these lines yesterday. A bloke I used to work with once told me about his Dad, who had been a fighter pilot. When he graduated from his fighter course, the RAAF was transitioning from Mustangs to Vampires, and everyone wanted to fly the jet, so he was disappointed when he got the piston posting first.
Predictably, though, he loved the Mustang, and a couple of years down the track got the jet conversion too, so he had the experience of a classic machine that a lot of his mates missed out on.
Long live the classics I say.