ReToRqUe,

Thanks for that - just idle curiosity. I should've realised the answer after looking at the last picture. Does the extra 6' of altitude on the ladder keep you out of the no-see-um's/ meat-eating mosquitos threat band?

Phoenix,

Hmm - if you can find someone to explain a sand-and-sea "camouflage" scheme on a police heli, please let me know! We eagerly await the paint scheme on the new AS365N3s arriving next year; wonder what surprises they'll bring?

Bell 214ST operators
 

Dear ppruners,


Asking if PHI and AIR LOGESTICS still flying the 214st and what are there contacts?

Thanks in advance for the help.

PHI Director of Operations is Carlin Craig

[email protected]

The Chief Pilot is Mike Hurst

[email protected]

The Director of Marketing who deals with AC sales is Peter Sorenson [email protected]

They are still flying the 214 STs for Shell, I believe. PHI has 4 of them. Airlog has probably 2 or 3 but I am not sure who they are working for or if they are flying.

HH

Air Log is still flying 214STs in the Gulf. Their website is here. They say they have 6 in their fleet.

AB139Heli - Got your PM and will respond. Good to see you here and make sure you keep that new South African under a watchful eye ;)

Will post a few pics from my visit there on the Rotorheads at work thread so keep an eye out in the next couple of days. Looking forward to coming back when the new toys arrive :ok: :ok:

Cheers

Ned

Question for B214ST drivers
 

Hi there,
I was wondering if anyone can educate me on why the B214ST collective is designed the way it is. Is the horizontal part of the collective the individual throttle/power controls for each engine?
I have included a pic circled and labelled 'a' and 'b' for what I assume may be the individual controls.
If they are the throttles, is it normal practice to fly with your hand on them continuously (horizontal axis through the fist) or is the lever gripped in a conventional way (longtitudinal axis through the fist) around the lever itself?
Thanks in advance.
CB
http://www.ipas.com.au/images/B214ST...ive design.jpg

Hi Conway B,

The Bell 222 and the Bell 214 ST had this type ot collective and throttle design .... and in my opinion a very good design it is!

The collective was designed to move slightly more as a Fwd/Aft movement than Up/Down as more commonly used in current Helo practice.

The two thottle twistgrips arranged at the top of the collective (with throttle frictions) with No1 (left engine)to the outside and No2 (right engine) to the right of the No1 (ie to the left of the collective head).

In operation it much more intuitive to reach for the correct throttle in an emergency as may be required ... IMHO this should be standard for all Helos (?????). Collective movement also designed to remove/reduce pilot induced vertical overcontrolling (??? ... so I was told by them "good ol boys in Ft `Worth !).

I flew this set up on the Bell 222UT and thought it BRILLIANT!

Cheers :ok: :ok: :ok:

Once you have flown it for a few hours you really get to like the throttle layout. I, and most of the people that I have seen fly the ST, tend to fly with their hands on the throttles during takeoff and landing, and just kind of drapped over the round bit that you see n the pic during cruise.

Conway , Another advantage of the ST style throttles and collective and the main design feature is the ability to take an engine into manual fuel (ie;ECU lockout) without taking your hand off the collective as the solenoid release switch is on the collective head, this means the ST and 222 series can be flown much safer in a single pilot situation, unlike the Blackhawk or Super Puma for example were you must take your hand off the collective to manipulate the throttles or have the nonflying crewmember do it.

A video off CHC Helikopter Service Bell 214ST LN-OMM

Bell 214B1
 

Hi Guys

Looking for information on this Bell model , the big lifter, my company operating on the Pirenees area is studying the purchase or lease, of one of them, for sling load work.

we know very little about it and would appreciate those of you with experience on it, could share a bit with us.

Common failures, overlimit problems, examples of performance, pilot advices, web pages with 214b1 info, anything will help.

thanks in advance:ok:

pol
Helitrans Pyrinees

Performance at alitude is good Obtaining spares might be your biggest problem...

Spares are very expensive.

McDermott Aviation have a number of 214B's, and are well experienced in their operation :ok:

Bell 214B1
 

rotorpol:

An interesting choice of helicopter but as others have said, it may/will be difficult to support given the low fleet numbers and parts availability. Also, remember the old saying about using a Bell for sustained external load work - have a spare tailboom available. Have you considered the K-Max? There are a number of European operators from whom you can get some idea of the performance and technical support.

If you fly the two fourteen within the limits you won't have any problems with the tail boom. The logging industry was largely responsible for those failures. The K- Max was specifically designed for lifting but they too have issues... MR blades touching in flight...very limited yaw control at low power settings....no pax or cargo and they won't do much more than 80 kts..versus 140 for the two fourteen...

Getting in a bit late, just found the 214 thread.
 

If I remember right the real cause of the incident of the 214 that sheared a tail rotor driveshaft was that the pilot didn't realise that net that carried the load he was trying to lift had got hooked to the vehicle the load was on. Not noticing the torque gauge go off the clock the first thing the pilot knew was that the tail rotor drive shaft sheared. His reactions were quick to say the least. The aircraft was 755 on the SOAF register. It took us (I was one of the engineers there) many months to get that one back in the air. I still have many photo's of the 214 in the air together, all five that we had at that time. From the length of time RedandWhite spent flying the 214 in Oman I am fairly sure I know who you are!

Is there a flight school/operator in the world that still does training on the ST? Would love to pole this beast just for the hellof it!

Thanks, FD

ST in Australia
 

Does anyone know of any company curretly operating the 214ST in Australia?