Bell Textron Inc. is an American

aerospace manufacturer An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing, building, testing, selling, and maintaining aircraft, aircraft parts, missiles, rockets, or spacecraft. Aerospace is a high technology indust ...

headquartered in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the List of cities in Texas by population, fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the List of United States cities by population, 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, T ...

. A subsidiary of

Textron Textron Inc. is an American industrial conglomerate based in Providence, Rhode Island. Textron's subsidiaries include Arctic Cat, Bell Textron, Textron Aviation (which itself includes the Beechcraft, and Cessna brands), and Lycoming Engines. ...

, Bell manufactures military rotorcraft at facilities in Fort Worth, and

Amarillo, Texas Amarillo ( ; Spanish for " yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall Cou ...

, as well as commercial

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attribu ...

s in Mirabel, Quebec,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

History

Bell Aircraft

The company was founded on July 10, 1935, as

Bell Aircraft Corporation The Bell Aircraft Corporation was an American aircraft manufacturer, a builder of several types of fighter aircraft for World War II but most famous for the Bell X-1, the first supersonic aircraft, and for the development and production of man ...

Lawrence Dale Bell Lawrence Dale "Larry" Bell (April 5, 1894 – October 20, 1956) was an American industrialist and founder of Bell Aircraft Corporation. Biography Bell was born in Mentone, Indiana, and lived there until 1907, when his family moved to Santa Moni ...

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

. 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 The Bell X-1 (Bell Model 44) is a rocket engine–powered aircraft, designated originally as the XS-1, and was a joint National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics–U.S. Army Air Forces–U.S. Air Force supersonic research project built by Be ...

were also Bell products.History of Bell Helicopter
. bellhelicopter.com

In 1941, Bell hired Arthur M. Young, a talented inventor, to provide expertise for

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 A civil aviation authority (CAA) is a national or supranational statutory authority that oversees the regulation of civil aviation, including the maintenance of an aircraft register. Role Due to the inherent dangers in the use of flight vehicles, ...

, becoming a civilian and military success.

Bell Helicopter

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 The Bell UH-1 Iroquois (nicknamed "Huey") is a utility military helicopter designed and produced by the American aerospace company Bell Helicopter. It is the first member of the prolific Huey family, as well as the first turbine-powered helico ...

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. Bell Helicopter had a close association with AgustaWestland. The partnership dated back to separate manufacturing and technology agreements with

Agusta Agusta was an Italian helicopter manufacturer. It was based in Samarate, Northern Italy. The company was founded by Count Giovanni Agusta in 1923, who flew his first airplane in 1907. The MV Agusta motorcycle manufacturer began as an offshoo ...

( Bell 47 and

Bell 206 The Bell 206 is a family of two-bladed, single- and twin-engined helicopters, manufactured by Bell Helicopter at its Mirabel, Quebec, plant. Originally developed as the Bell YOH-4 for the United States Army's Light Observation Helicopter prog ...

) and as a sublicence via Agusta with Westland ( Bell 47). 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 The AgustaWestland (now Leonardo) AW609, formerly the Bell/Agusta BA609, is a twin-engined tiltrotor VTOL aircraft with a configuration similar to that of the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey. It is capable of landing vertically like a helicopter while ...

tiltrotor.Oliver Johnson & Elan Head.
Bell CEO outlines European growth plan
''Vertical'', October 15, 2014. Accessed: October 21, 2014. Bell planned to reduce employment by 760 in 2014 as fewer V-22s were made. A

rapid prototyping Rapid prototyping is a group of techniques used to quickly fabricate a scale model of a physical part or assembly using three-dimensional computer aided design (CAD) data. Construction of the part or assembly is usually done using 3D printing ...

center called XworX assists Bell's other divisions in reducing development time. The company was rebranded as "Bell" on February 22, 2018.

Product list

Bell 412EP Griffin HT1 of the RAF at RIAT 2010 arp

Commercial helicopters

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

Military helicopters

Bell H-12 The Bell R-12 (later redesignated H-12; company Model 48) was an American 1940s military utility helicopter built by the Bell Helicopter company. Design and development During 1946, Bell Helicopter began development of a new utility helicopter, ...

Bell H-13 Sioux The Bell H-13 Sioux is an American single-engine light helicopter built by Bell Helicopter and manufactured by Westland Aircraft under license for the British military as the Sioux AH.1 and HT.2. Development In 1947, the United States Arm ...

** Bell XH-13F * Bell XH-15 *

Bell HSL The Bell HSL (Model 61) was an American 1950s anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopter built by the Bell Helicopter company, the only tandem rotor type designed by Bell. Design and development The prototype Bell Model 61 first flew on 3 March 1953 ...

Bell UH-1 Iroquois The Bell UH-1 Iroquois (nicknamed "Huey") is a utility military helicopter designed and produced by the American aerospace company Bell Helicopter. It is the first member of the prolific Huey family, as well as the first turbine-powered helico ...

(or Huey) ** Bell Huey family ** Bell UH-1 Iroquois variants * Bell UH-1N Twin Huey *

Bell YHO-4 The Bell YOH-4 (originally YHO-4) was a single-engine, single-rotor light helicopter, developed for the United States Army's Light Observation Helicopter program. While the YOH-4A was unsuccessful in the original LOH competition, Bell redesigned ...

Bell 207 Sioux Scout The Bell 207 Sioux Scout is a modified Bell 47 helicopter, developed by Bell Helicopter under contract from the United States Army, as a proof-of-concept demonstrator for the Bell D-255 helicopter gunship design, featuring a tandem Cockpit (avia ...

– experimental attack helicopter *

Bell 533 The Bell 533 was a research helicopter built by Bell Helicopter under contract with the United States Army during the 1960s, to explore the limits and conditions experienced by helicopter rotors at high airspeeds. The helicopter was a YH-40—a p ...

– experimental Huey variant with increased performance *

Bell AH-1 Cobra The Bell AH-1 Cobra is a single-engined attack helicopter developed and manufactured by the American rotorcraft manufacturer Bell Helicopter. A member of the prolific Huey family, the AH-1 is also referred to as the HueyCobra or Snake. The ...

* Bell AH-1 SeaCobra/SuperCobra * Bell 309 KingCobra - experimental attack helicopter * YAH-63/Model 409 – competitor with the YAH-64 for Advanced Attack Helicopter program *

Bell OH-58 Kiowa The Bell OH-58 Kiowa is a family of single-engine single- rotor military helicopters used for observation, utility, and direct fire support. It was produced by the American manufacturer Bell Helicopter and is closely related to the Model 206 ...

* H-1 upgrade program **

Bell UH-1Y Venom The Bell UH-1Y VenomDoD 4120-15L, ''Model Desi ...

** Bell AH-1Z Viper * Bell CH-146 Griffon *

Bell ARH-70 Arapaho The Bell ARH-70 Arapaho was an American four-bladed, single-engine, light military helicopter designed for the United States Army's Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH) program. With a crew of two and optimized for urban combat, the ARH-70 was ...

- cancelled armed reconnaissance helicopter * Bell 360 Invictus - proposed armed reconnaissance helicopter

Tiltrotors

* Bell XV-3 *

Bell XV-15 The Bell XV-15 is an American tiltrotor VTOL aircraft. It was the second successful experimental tiltrotor aircraft and the first to demonstrate the concept's high speed performance relative to conventional helicopters. Development Early VTOL ...

* Bell Pointer * Bell V-247 Vigilant – currently in development * Bell V-280 Valor – currently in development, first flown 2017 *

V-22 Osprey The Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey is an American multi-mission, tiltrotor military aircraft with both vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) and short takeoff and landing (STOL) capabilities. It is designed to combine the functionality of a conventio ...

– with Boeing BDS * TR918 Eagle Eye UAV * Quad TiltRotor – with Boeing BDS * Bell BAT (1984 tiltrotor project for LHX programme – not built) * Bell CTR-1900 (Tilt-rotor project only – not built) *

Bell CTR-22 A bell is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be made by an inter ...

(Tilt-rotor project only – not built) * Bell CTR-750 (Tilt-rotor project only – not built) *

Bell CTR-800 A bell is a struck idiophone, directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be ...

(Tilt-rotor project only – not built) * Bell D-326 (Clipper 1980 commercial tilt-rotor project – not built)

Projects produced by other companies

AgustaWestland AW139 The AgustaWestland AW139 is a medium-lift twin-engined helicopter developed and produced by the Anglo-Italian helicopter manufacturer AgustaWestland, later wholly owned by Leonardo S.p.A. It is marketed at several different roles, including V ...

helicopter (formerly 50-50 as the Agusta-Bell AB139, now 100% AgustaWestland) * AgustaWestland AW609 tiltrotor (formerly 50-50 as the Bell-Agusta BA609, now 100% AgustaWestland) *

Lockheed Martin VH-71 Kestrel The Lockheed Martin VH-71 Kestrel was a variant of the AgustaWestland AW101 (formerly the EH101) that was being manufactured to replace the United States Marine Corps' Marine One U.S. Presidential transport fleet. Originally marketed for vario ...

Unproduced designs

* Bell 280 (project only, twin-engined wide-body variant of the Cobra) * Bell D-218 * Bell D-230 (Flying Jeep project – not built) * Bell D-245 * Bell D-246 *

Bell 400 TwinRanger 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 ...

(1984), cancelled 206-derived light twin *

Bell D-292 The Bell D-292 was an American experimental helicopter developed by Bell Helicopters Bell Textron Inc. is an American aerospace manufacturer headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. A subsidiary of Textron, Bell manufactures military rotorcraft ...

(1985),

Light Helicopter Experimental The Light Helicopter Experimental (LHX) program was a 1980s United States Army helicopter procurement project to replace the AH-1 Cobra and OH-58 Kiowa helicopters. Background In support of the LHX program, the United States Army started the Adv ...

(LHX) prototype * Bell 417 (2006) cancelled

Bell 407 The Bell 407 is a four-blade, single-engine, civil utility helicopter. A derivative of the Bell 206L-4 LongRanger, the 407 uses the four-blade, soft-in-plane design rotor with composite hub developed for the United States Army's OH-58D Kiowa W ...

growth variant *

Bell FCX-001 The Bell FCX-001 is an American conceptual helicopter design proposed by Bell Helicopter. It was first presented to the public at Heli-Expo 2017 in Dallas on March 7, 2017.Vertical Online MagazinBell Helicopter unveils futuristic FCX-001 concept a ...

, March 2017 concept

Facilities

Bell manufacturing and support facilities are: ;Military *

- located at six manufacturing facilities throughout the DFW area; of these six the Manufacturing Technology Center (MTC) in Fort Worth, Texas serves as the primary manufacturing development facility of the Bell V-280 Valor, Bell 360 Invictus *

: located near

Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport is a public airport six miles (10 km) east of downtown Amarillo, in Potter County, Texas, United States. The airport was renamed in 2003 after NASA astronaut and Amarillo native Rick Husband, ...

; assembly plant for H1, V-22 and 525 ;Commercial * Mirabel, Quebec,

: opened in 1983 and located next to Montreal-Mirabel International Airport; it produces components for Bell 429, 505 and 525; assembly plant for 505 and finally assembly for current commercial products for Canadian market

References

External links

*
Bell timeline at the Helicopter History SiteVideo history of Bell Helicopter
* {{Authority control Helicopter manufacturers of the United States Defense companies of the United States Helicopter manufacturers of Canada Manufacturing companies based in Fort Worth, Texas Textron Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1935 1935 establishments in New York (state) 1960 mergers and acquisitions