Bell Helicopter Textron
Bell Helicopter Textron (or
Bell for short) is an
American helicopter and
tiltrotor manufacturer headquartered in
Fort Worth, Texas. Bell manufactures military helicopter and tiltrotor products in the United States (primarily in and around Fort Worth as well as in
Amarillo, Texas) and commercial rotorcraft products in Mirabel, Quebec, Canada.
Bell formerly produced airplanes as
Bell Aircraft Corporation, including the famous
Bell X-1, which, piloted by
Chuck Yeager, was the first aircraft to fly faster than the speed of sound in level flight. It is a unit of the
conglomerate Textron, which purchased Bell Aerospace in 1960.
Bell Helicopter has a close association with
AgustaWestland. The partnership dates back to separate manufacturing and technology agreements with
Agusta and
Westland. When the two European firms merged, the partnerships were retained, with the exception of the AB139, which is now known as the A139.
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Bell 206B JetRanger III |
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Bell 412 |
Helicopters
Commercial
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47 *
206 (Currently in production)
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210*
212*
214*
222*
407 (Currently in production)
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412 (Currently in production)
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417 (Currently in Flight Test)
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427 *
429 (Announced February 2005)
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430 (Currently in production)
Military
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UH-1 Iroquois (or Huey)
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UH-1F,
Air Force variant of UH-1
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AH-1 Cobra (or HueyCobra)
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AgustaWestland A139 (formerly 50/50 as the Bell/Agusta AB139, now 100%
AgustaWestland)
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ARH*
OH-58 KiowaTiltrotors
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V-22 Osprey (with
Boeing IDS)
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Bell/Agusta BA609 (with AgustaWestland)
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Eagle Eye*
Official site.
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Bell Timeline at the Helicopter History Site*
Photos and videos of Bell helicopters
