14-05-2009, 03:10 AM
(This post was last modified: 14-05-2009, 04:57 AM by Tosh Plumlee.)
Linda: Thanks for the information on the 206 A However the helicopter in the picture with the alleged Mayor of New Orleanes and Berry Seal is a Bell 206-L know as the "Long Ranger" (Or in some circles as the 'Death Ranger")
Also the modifications to the airframe and the N-4xxx reg can be seen in the photograph as well as the window conf. and confirms it being the 207-L model of the mid seventies.
(note;The first prototype (testing) of the 206A flew on 8 December 1962. Production for commercial sales use of the 206A was not until 1965)
Ref:
On September 25, 1973, Bell Helicopter announced an improved version of the venerable Jet Ranger. Named the Model 206L-1 Long Ranger II, it introduced Bell’s revolutionary new Noda-Matic suspension system for the transmission and a stretched fuselage 26 inches longer than that on the Jet Ranger. The additional space left room for a third side window, the most recognizable visual feature of the Long Ranger. Bell Helicopter Textron’s Model 206L-1 Long Ranger II, and its older brother Jet Ranger. may be the most familiar helicopters in the western world. To date. over 5,000 Jet Rangers and 900 Long Rangers have been produced, and it seems that the type will stay in production for years to come.
Development of the Model 206 started in the late 1950s, the intended goal being to compete for the U.S Army’s light observation helicopter (LOH) program, carried out in 1961. But the Hughes Helicopters entry, designated OH-6 by the Army and now known as the Hughes 500, won the contest. However, Bell introduced the aircraft, commercially named the Jet Ranger, to the civilian market with excellent results. (1965) Military work came for the Jet Ranger in 1968 when the U.S. Navy bought forty aircraft, called TH-57A Sea Rangers, for use as trainers. The Model 206 has since filled several military contracts, the most recent order for more Sea Rangers coming from the Navy.
Simplicity, reliability, and utility characterize the Jet and Long Ranger aircraft. Bells trademark. the two-blade teetering main rotor combined with small, high-output turbine engines, made the Model 206 easy and inexpensive to fly and maintain by both the corporate owner and troops in the field.
The Noda-Matic system in the Long Ranger greatly reduced a shortcoming that was almost traditional in helicopters—vibration. By suspending the transmission at certain points from a metal beam, vibration levels were reduced so that the Long Ranger’s ride compared with that of a fixed-wing turboprop aircraft...."
"... Bell Helicopter INC 206L-3 LongRanger (Aka The Jet Ranger)
The 206L LongRanger is a stretched variant with seating for seven (the LongRanger, stretched a total of 30 inches (760 mm), adds two rear-facing seats in between the front and rear seats). Since their first delivery in 1975, Bell has produced more than 1,700 Ls across all variant types. In 1981 a military version was released, the 206L "TexasRanger". The original 206L utilized a Allison 250-C20B engine, and a series of model upgrades replaced this engine with more powerful versions; the 206L-1 used a 250-C28 and the 206L-3 and 206L-4 used the 250-C30P with 490 shaft horsepower.
In 2007, Bell announced an upgrade program for the 206L-1 and 206L-3 which is designed to modify the aircraft to the 206L-4 configuration; modified aircraft are designated 206L-1+ and 206L-3+. Modifications include strengthened airframe structural components (including a new tailboom), improved transmission, upgraded engine for the L-1, all of which result in a max gross weight increase of 300 pounds and increased performance.[9]
(note: additional background on the Bell Helicopter 206-L)
Bell produced five prototype aircraft in 1962 for the Army's test and evaluation phase. The first prototype flew on 8 December 1962.[1] That same year, all aircraft began to be designated according to the new Joint Services designation system, so the prototype aircraft were redesignated as YOH-4A. Following a flyoff of the Bell, Hughes and Fairchild-Hiller prototypes, the Hughes OH-6 was selected in May 1965.[7]
When the YOH-4A was rejected by the Army, Bell went about solving the problem of marketing the aircraft. In addition to the image problem, the helicopter lacked cargo space and only provided cramped quarters for the planned three passengers in the back. The solution was a fuselage redesigned to be more sleek and aesthetic, adding 16 cubic feet (0.45 m3) of cargo space in the process.[8] The redesigned aircraft was designated as the Model 206A, and Bell President Edwin J. Ducayet named it the JetRanger denoting an evolution from the popular Model 47J Ranger.
(note Model 206A comercial production started in 1965)
[edit] 206L LongRanger
The 206L LongRanger is a stretched variant with seating for seven (the LongRanger, stretched a total of 30 inches (760 mm), adds two rear-facing seats in between the front and rear seats). Since their first delivery in 1975, Bell has produced more than 1,700 Ls across all variant types. In 1981 a military version was released, the 206L "TexasRanger". The original 206L utilized a Allison 250-C20B engine, and a series of model upgrades replaced this engine with more powerful versions; the 206L-1 used a 250-C28 and the 206L-3 and 206L-4 used the 250-C30P with 490 shaft horsepower.
In 2007, Bell announced an upgrade program for the 206L-1 and 206L-3 which is designed to modify the aircraft to the 206L-4 configuration; modified aircraft are designated 206L-1+ and 206L-3+. Modifications include strengthened airframe structural components (including a new tailboom), improved transmission, upgraded engine for the L-1, all of which result in a max gross weight increase of 300 pounds and increased performance.[9]
note: Also it seems to me that the Mayor grew more hair in the Seal picture as compared to earlier pictures of him which showed him as being almost bald.
Also the modifications to the airframe and the N-4xxx reg can be seen in the photograph as well as the window conf. and confirms it being the 207-L model of the mid seventies.
(note;The first prototype (testing) of the 206A flew on 8 December 1962. Production for commercial sales use of the 206A was not until 1965)
Ref:
On September 25, 1973, Bell Helicopter announced an improved version of the venerable Jet Ranger. Named the Model 206L-1 Long Ranger II, it introduced Bell’s revolutionary new Noda-Matic suspension system for the transmission and a stretched fuselage 26 inches longer than that on the Jet Ranger. The additional space left room for a third side window, the most recognizable visual feature of the Long Ranger. Bell Helicopter Textron’s Model 206L-1 Long Ranger II, and its older brother Jet Ranger. may be the most familiar helicopters in the western world. To date. over 5,000 Jet Rangers and 900 Long Rangers have been produced, and it seems that the type will stay in production for years to come.
Development of the Model 206 started in the late 1950s, the intended goal being to compete for the U.S Army’s light observation helicopter (LOH) program, carried out in 1961. But the Hughes Helicopters entry, designated OH-6 by the Army and now known as the Hughes 500, won the contest. However, Bell introduced the aircraft, commercially named the Jet Ranger, to the civilian market with excellent results. (1965) Military work came for the Jet Ranger in 1968 when the U.S. Navy bought forty aircraft, called TH-57A Sea Rangers, for use as trainers. The Model 206 has since filled several military contracts, the most recent order for more Sea Rangers coming from the Navy.
Simplicity, reliability, and utility characterize the Jet and Long Ranger aircraft. Bells trademark. the two-blade teetering main rotor combined with small, high-output turbine engines, made the Model 206 easy and inexpensive to fly and maintain by both the corporate owner and troops in the field.
The Noda-Matic system in the Long Ranger greatly reduced a shortcoming that was almost traditional in helicopters—vibration. By suspending the transmission at certain points from a metal beam, vibration levels were reduced so that the Long Ranger’s ride compared with that of a fixed-wing turboprop aircraft...."
"... Bell Helicopter INC 206L-3 LongRanger (Aka The Jet Ranger)
The 206L LongRanger is a stretched variant with seating for seven (the LongRanger, stretched a total of 30 inches (760 mm), adds two rear-facing seats in between the front and rear seats). Since their first delivery in 1975, Bell has produced more than 1,700 Ls across all variant types. In 1981 a military version was released, the 206L "TexasRanger". The original 206L utilized a Allison 250-C20B engine, and a series of model upgrades replaced this engine with more powerful versions; the 206L-1 used a 250-C28 and the 206L-3 and 206L-4 used the 250-C30P with 490 shaft horsepower.
In 2007, Bell announced an upgrade program for the 206L-1 and 206L-3 which is designed to modify the aircraft to the 206L-4 configuration; modified aircraft are designated 206L-1+ and 206L-3+. Modifications include strengthened airframe structural components (including a new tailboom), improved transmission, upgraded engine for the L-1, all of which result in a max gross weight increase of 300 pounds and increased performance.[9]
(note: additional background on the Bell Helicopter 206-L)
Bell produced five prototype aircraft in 1962 for the Army's test and evaluation phase. The first prototype flew on 8 December 1962.[1] That same year, all aircraft began to be designated according to the new Joint Services designation system, so the prototype aircraft were redesignated as YOH-4A. Following a flyoff of the Bell, Hughes and Fairchild-Hiller prototypes, the Hughes OH-6 was selected in May 1965.[7]
When the YOH-4A was rejected by the Army, Bell went about solving the problem of marketing the aircraft. In addition to the image problem, the helicopter lacked cargo space and only provided cramped quarters for the planned three passengers in the back. The solution was a fuselage redesigned to be more sleek and aesthetic, adding 16 cubic feet (0.45 m3) of cargo space in the process.[8] The redesigned aircraft was designated as the Model 206A, and Bell President Edwin J. Ducayet named it the JetRanger denoting an evolution from the popular Model 47J Ranger.
(note Model 206A comercial production started in 1965)
[edit] 206L LongRanger
The 206L LongRanger is a stretched variant with seating for seven (the LongRanger, stretched a total of 30 inches (760 mm), adds two rear-facing seats in between the front and rear seats). Since their first delivery in 1975, Bell has produced more than 1,700 Ls across all variant types. In 1981 a military version was released, the 206L "TexasRanger". The original 206L utilized a Allison 250-C20B engine, and a series of model upgrades replaced this engine with more powerful versions; the 206L-1 used a 250-C28 and the 206L-3 and 206L-4 used the 250-C30P with 490 shaft horsepower.
In 2007, Bell announced an upgrade program for the 206L-1 and 206L-3 which is designed to modify the aircraft to the 206L-4 configuration; modified aircraft are designated 206L-1+ and 206L-3+. Modifications include strengthened airframe structural components (including a new tailboom), improved transmission, upgraded engine for the L-1, all of which result in a max gross weight increase of 300 pounds and increased performance.[9]
note: Also it seems to me that the Mayor grew more hair in the Seal picture as compared to earlier pictures of him which showed him as being almost bald.