Bell 400 TwinRanger
| Bell 400/440 TwinRanger | |
|---|---|
 | |
| A Bell 400 prototype | |
| Role | Multipurpose utility helicopter |
| Manufacturer | Bell Helicopter |
| First flight | 4 April 1984 |
| Status | Canceled |
| Number built | 4 |
| Developed from | Bell 206L |
The Bell 400 TwinRanger was a prototype four-bladed, twin-engine civil helicopter developed by Bell Helicopter in the 1980s. Both the TwinRanger and another planned version, the Bell 440, were attempts to market a twin-engine development of the Model 206L LongRanger. The Bell 400A was a planned single-engine version of the 400. TwinRanger development was canceled when Bell could not acquire enough orders for production. The TwinRanger name was later used for a twin-engine version of the LongRanger produced from 1994 to 1997.
Development
Bell has tried several incarnations of a twin-engined version of its successful Bell 206 series. The TwinRanger name dates back to the mid-1980s when Bell first considered developing a twin engine version of the LongRanger.
The Bell 400 TwinRanger featured a reprofiled fuselage, two Allison 250 turboshafts, the OH-58D Kiowa's four blade main rotor, and a new shrouded tail rotor.[1] Bell also planned the single-engined 400A, and the 440 twin with a larger fuselage made possible by a high degree of composites.[2] The Bell 400 first flew on April 4, 1984. Bell suspended development of the 400/440 family in the late 1980s as it felt unable to achieve a profitable production rate of 120 units a year.[1]
Successors
After the success of Tridair's Gemini ST twin engine conversions of the 206L in the early 1990s, Bell produced the equivalent Bell 206LT TwinRanger based on the 206L-4. Only 13 206LTs were built between 1994 and 1997. The 206LT was replaced in Bell's line-up by the Bell 427, a mostly-new development of the Bell 407, itself a four-bladed single-engine derivative of the 206L.[1]
Variants
- Bell 400
- Bell 400A
- Projected model to be powered by one PW209T turboshaft of 937 shp.[2]
- Bell 440
Specifications (Bell 400)
Data from The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Helicopters[2]
General characteristics
- Crew: 1 pilot
- Capacity: 5 passengers
- Length: ft in (m)
- Rotor diameter: 35 ft 0 in (10.60 m)
- Height: ft in (m)
- Disc area: 2 ft² (m²)
- Empty weight: 3,075 lb (1,400kg)
- Useful load: lb (kg)
- Loaded weight: lb (kg)
- Max. takeoff weight: 5,500lb (2,495 kg)
- Powerplant: 2 × Allison 250-C20P turboshaft, 420 hp (kW) each
Performance
- Never exceed speed: knots (mph, km/h)
- Maximum speed: knots (172 mph, 278 km/h)
- Cruise speed: knots (mph, 259 km/h)
- Stall speed: knots (mph, km/h)
- Range: 394 nm (mi, 730 km)
- Service ceiling: 10,000 ft (3,048 m)
- Rate of climb: 2,000 ft/min (m/s)
- Disc loading: lb/ft² (kg/m²)
- Power/mass: hp/lb (W/kg)
See also
- Related development