The Bell 214 is a medium-lift

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...

derived from

Bell Helicopter 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 heli ...

's ubiquitous UH-1 Huey series. The Bell 214ST shares the same model number, but is a larger, much-modified twin-engine derivative.

Design and development

The original development of the Model 214 was announced by Bell in 1970 under the name "Huey Plus". The first prototype was based on a

Bell 205 The Bell 204 and 205 are the civilian versions of the UH-1 Iroquois single-engine military helicopter of the Huey family of helicopters. They are type-certificated in the transport category and are used in a wide variety of applications, i ...

airframe equipped with a

Lycoming T53 The Lycoming T53, (company designation LTC-1) is a turboshaft engine used on helicopters and (as a turboprop) fixed-wing aircraft since the 1950s. It was designed at the Lycoming Turbine Engine Division in Stratford, Connecticut, by a team he ...

-L-702 engine of 1,900 shp. The first Bell 214A demonstration prototype followed and was evaluated in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

during field exercises with the Imperial Iranian Armed Forces. The trial was judged successful and an order for 287 214A helicopters followed. The intention was that these aircraft would be constructed by Bell in their Dallas-Fort Worth facility and that a further 50 214As and 350 Bell 214ST helicopters would then be built in Iran. In the event, 296 214A and 39 214C variants were delivered, before the

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...

in 1979 ended the plans for Iranian production.Apostolo, Giorgio. ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Helicopters'', p. 54. Bonanza Books, New York, 1984. . Similar in size and appearance to the

and

Bell 212 The Bell 212 (also known as the ''Bell Two-Twelve'') is a two-blade, twin-engine, medium helicopter that first flew in 1968. Originally manufactured by Bell Helicopter in Fort Worth, Texas, United States, production was moved to Mirabel, Queb ...

, the Bell 214 uses a single, more powerful Lycoming LTC4B-8 engine (2,930 shp; 2,185 kW) and upgraded rotor system, giving it a high lifting capacity and good performance at high temperatures and high altitudes.Frawley, Gerard. ''The International Directory of Military Aircraft'', p. 34. Aerospace Publications Pty Ltd, 2002. . It can be identified by the single large exhaust duct and wide chord rotor blades without stabilizer bars. Bell offered the Bell 214B "BigLifter" for civil use. It received certification in 1976. The 214B was produced until 1981. Powered by a 2,930 shp (2,183 kW) Lycoming T5508D turboshaft, it has the same rotor drive and transmission system as the 214A. The transmission is rated at 2,050 shp (1,528 kW) for take-off, with a maximum continuous power rating of 1,850 shp (1,379 kW). The BigLifter features advanced rotor hub with elastomeric bearings; an automatic flight control system with stability augmentation; and commercial avionics."Bell 214". ''Jane's Helicopter Markets and Systems''. Jane's, 2007
(online subscription article)
/ref>

Operational history

As of January 2012, 29 Bell 214s were in military service, including 25 Bell 214As with Iran, and three 214Bs with United Arab Emirates."World Military Aircraft Inventory". ''2012 Aerospace''. Aviation Week and Space Technology, January 2012. Approximately 41 Bell 214Bs are in commercial service. User countries are Australia (6), Canada (10), Singapore (3) and United States (15).

Variants

* Bell 214 Huey Plus - The prototype 214 flew in 1970. Powered by one Lycoming T53-L-702 turboshaft (1,900 shp/1,415 kW). * Bell 214A/C Isfahan - The 299 Bell 214As for the Imperial Iranian Army Aviation were built beginning in 1972, followed by 39 Bell 214Cs with a hoist (winch) and other search and rescue equipment for the Imperial Iranian Air Force. * Bell 214B BigLifter - Civil variant of the 214A. 70 built.Pelletier, Alain J. ''Bell Aircraft Since 1935''. US Naval Institute Press, 1992. . * Bell 214B-1 - This variant of the Bell Model 214B is limited to a maximum 12,500 lb (5,670 kg) gross weight with an internal load due to different certification standards.Donald, David, ed. "Bell Model 214". ''The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft''. Barnes & Nobel Books, 1997. . The external load is the same as the 214B. The only difference between the 214B and 214B-1 is the dataplate, and flight manual.

Operators

;
McDermott Aviation Heli-Lift Australia
; * Islamic Republic of Iran Army Aviation

Former operators

; *

Ecuadorian Army The Ecuadorian Army () is the land component of the Ecuadorian Armed Forces. Its 25,650 active soldiers are deployed in relation to its military doctrine. The contemporary Ecuadorian Army incorporates many jungle and special forces infantry un ...

* National Disaster Management Authority - Rented from McDermott Aviation. * Imperial Iranian Army Aviation ; *

Royal Air Force of Oman The Royal Air Force of Oman ( or RAFO) is the air arm of the Sultan of Oman's Armed Forces, Armed Forces of Oman. History Sultan of Oman's Air Force era The Sultan of Oman's Air Force (SOAF) was formed with United Kingdom, British personnel an ...

; * Philippine Air Force - 2 units for

Search and Rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

and Aerial Firefighting. ; * United Arab Emirates Air Force

Specifications (214A)

References

External links

{{Huey family 1970s United States civil utility aircraft Single-turbine helicopters Aircraft first flown in 1970 214 1970s United States helicopters Single-rotor helicopters Aircraft with skid landing gear