Bell Textron Explained

Bell Textron Inc.
Type:Subsidiary
Predecessor:Bell Aircraft
Location City:Fort Worth, Texas
Location Country:US
Key People:Lisa Atherton [1] (president & CEO)
Industry:Aerospace
Defense
Parent:Textron
Footnotes:[2]

Bell Textron Inc. is an American aerospace manufacturer headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. A subsidiary of Textron, Bell manufactures military rotorcraft at facilities in Fort Worth, and Amarillo, Texas, United States as well as commercial helicopters in Mirabel, Quebec, Canada.

History

Bell Aircraft

See main article: Bell Aircraft. The company was founded on July 10, 1935, as Bell Aircraft Corporation by Lawrence Dale Bell in Buffalo, New York. The company focused on the designing and building of fighter aircraft. Their first fighters were the XFM-1 Airacuda, a twin-engine fighter for attacking bombers, and the P-39 Airacobra. The P-59 Airacomet, the first American jet fighter, the P-63 Kingcobra, the successor to the P-39, and the Bell X-1 were also Bell products.[3]

In 1941, Bell hired Arthur M. Young, a talented inventor, to provide expertise for helicopter research and development. It was the foundation for what Bell hoped would be a broader economic base for his company that was not dependent on government contracts. The Bell 30 was their first full-size helicopter (first flight December 29, 1942) and the Bell 47 became the first helicopter in the world rated by a civil aviation authority, becoming a civilian and military success. Due to its burgeoning success, the helicopter division relocated as a separate unit to Hurst, Texas in 1951.

Bell Helicopter

Textron purchased Bell Aerospace in 1960. Bell Aerospace was composed of three divisions of Bell Aircraft Corporation, including its helicopter division, which had become its only division still producing complete aircraft. The helicopter division was renamed Bell Helicopter Company and in a few years, with the success of the UH-1 Huey during the Vietnam War, it had established itself as the largest division of Textron. In January 1976, Textron changed the division's name to Bell Helicopter Textron.[4]

Bell Helicopter had a close association with AgustaWestland. The partnership dated back to separate manufacturing and technology agreements with Agusta (Bell 47 and Bell 206) and as a sublicence via Agusta with Westland (Bell 47).[5] When the two European firms merged, the partnerships were retained, with the exception of the AB139, which is now known as the AW139. Bell and AW cooperated also on the AW609 tiltrotor.[6]

Bell planned to reduce employment by 760 in 2014 as fewer V-22s were made.[6] A rapid prototyping center called XworX assists Bell's other divisions in reducing development time.[7]

The company was rebranded as "Bell" on February 22, 2018.[8]

In July 2024, at the Farnborough International Airshow, Bell Textron commemorated a significant milestone with the delivery of the 500th Bell 429 helicopter. This notable aircraft was received by the Mendes Group, a prominent operator headquartered in Latin America, intended for corporate transportation purposes within Brazil.[9]

Product list

Established in 1986, its Mirabel, Quebec facility assembles and delivers most of Bell's commercial helicopters and delivered its 5,000th helicopter on December 12, 2017.[10]

Commercial helicopters

Model Intro. Until MTOW (lb/t) Notes
1946 1974 2,950 1.34 based on the Bell 30 prototype, piston engine
1956 1967 2,950 1.34Bell 47 executive variant
1959 1980s 9,500 4.31Huey family civil variant, single turboshaft
1967 2017 3,200 1.45light single or twin turboshaft
11,200 5.08205B
1968 1998 11,200 5.08Civilian UH-1N Twin Huey
1972 1981 15,000 6.8 larger Huey
1982 1993 17,500 7.94 medium twin derived from the 214
1979 1995 8,400 3.81light twin
1995 current 6,000 2.72four-blade single derived from the 206L-4
1981 current 11,900 5.4four-blade 212
2000 2010 6,550 2.97407 derived light twin
2009 current 7,000 3.2lengthened 427
1995 2008 9,300 4.22222/230 stretch
2018 current 20,500 9.3in development
2017 current 3,680 1.67 206 development
Bell Nexus2020currentpre-production hybrid-electric propulsion system with six tilting ducted fans[11] [12] [13]

Military helicopters

Tiltrotors

Projects produced by other companies

Unproduced designs

Facilities

Bell manufacturing and support facilities are:

Military
Commercial

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Lisa Atherton Named President and CEO of Bell. April 10, 2023. April 18, 2023. April 18, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230418153521/https://news.bellflight.com/en-US/224779-lisa-atherton-named-president-and-ceo-of-bell. live.
  2. Web site: About Textron: Our Businesses. October 21, 2015. December 31, 2015. January 16, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190116055903/https://www.textron.com/About/Our-Businesses. live.
  3. http://www.bellhelicopter.com/en/company/history.cfm History of Bell Helicopter
  4. Web site: Our History. Bell Training Academy. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20070927222718/http://www.bellhelicopter.com/en/training/index.cfm?content=about%2Fhistory.cfm&g_folder=header_4. September 27, 2007.
  5. Web site: Westland History – Part 4. November 15, 2006. November 7, 2006. https://web.archive.org/web/20061107104901/http://www.helis.com/timeline/westland4.php. live.
  6. Oliver Johnson & Elan Head. "Bell CEO outlines European growth plan " Vertical, October 15, 2014. Accessed: October 21, 2014.
  7. Web site: Bell's XworX studying improved rotor blades. Aviation International News. October 21, 2015. June 30, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210630153009/https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/aviation-international-news/2009-12-29/bells-xworx-studying-improved-rotor-blades. dead.
  8. Web site: Bell Drops 'Helicopter,' Unveils New Dragonfly Logo. February 22, 2018. February 23, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180223051846/https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/business/Bell-Drops-Helicopter-Rebrands-Company-as-Tech-Company-Redefining-Flight-474868643.html. live.
  9. Web site: 2024-07-23 . Bell celebrates 500th delivery of Bell 429 . 2024-07-24 . Globalair.com . en.
  10. News: Bell Canada Delivers 5,000th Civil Helicopter . Mark Huber . December 13, 2017 . AIN . December 14, 2017 . December 14, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171214182713/https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2017-12-13/bell-canada-delivers-5000th-civil-helicopter . live .
  11. Web site: StackPath. 2020-12-09. www.intelligent-aerospace.com. June 27, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210627070936/https://www.intelligent-aerospace.com/commercial/article/16543447/bell-helicopter-unveils-nexus-air-taxi-at-ces. live.
  12. Web site: Bell Nexus VTOL Air Taxi Makes A Splash At 2019 Consumer Electronics Show. Goldstein. Michael. Forbes. en. 2019-02-02. February 2, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190202095755/https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelgoldstein/2019/01/14/bell-nexus-vtol-air-taxi-makes-a-splash-at-2019-consumer-electronics-show/. live.
  13. Web site: Smithsonian To Reveal the Bell Nexus 'Air Taxi' at "FUTURES". 2021-11-29. Smithsonian Institution. en. November 29, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211129205742/https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/releases/smithsonian-reveal-bell-nexus-air-taxi-futures. live.
  14. Web site: Bell Helicopter Expands Amarillo Manufacturing. 2022-11-20. news.bellflight.com. August 10, 2020 . en-US . November 20, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221120182725/https://news.bellflight.com/en-US/190850-bell-unveils-new-manufacturing-technology-center. live.
  15. Web site: Bell Helicopter Expands Amarillo Manufacturing. 2020-12-09. www.newschannel10.com. August 12, 2008 . en-US.
  16. Web site: Canada. Employment and Social Development. 2016-05-19. Bell Helicopter Textron Canada relocates assembly program to Quebec. 2020-12-09. gcnws.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Bell Textron".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.