Bell Crashed The 214St Used To Test The 525 Rotor

[picapart]

The tail rotor assembly is around seventy pounds and would cause c of g problem I'm guessing . Who knows ,it might of had a new style rotor design on it as well .

[helicopterjim]

As long as we are spectulating .....

 

....... then it could have been anything!

[hybrid]

....... then it could have been anything!

Pretty Much!

[Elvis]

Considering the accident happened at Bell's "Skunk works" it might be a long time before any information comes out.

[DGP]

Does anyone remember the Quasar 214...I worked with Scotty who brought it up from texas....it was repoed by bell I was told....I also met the pilot of the Associated 214 and almost got a ride in it up in Churchill just before it went back to Edmonton....we all know the sad ending to that one...they were quite the machine...I got a good look at the one at the Bell plant in Texas...very impressive...when I saw the first pictures of the 525 I said that looks like a 214 with a multibladed rotor

[marc]

I would speculate they were testing a new T/R design. Would think they would come out with a more "modern" one to go with the 5 bladed main rotor????? Who knows.... The 214 B/ST Tailrotor/TR Drive is very proven and robust.

 

As for the ST, I have had fun wrenching on the only one registered and flying regularly in Canada for the last three years!

 

525 will be the same cabin size and the same engine(newer version). I would bet there will be a few more bits borrowed as is the Bell tradition like maybe the C-Box.

 

It is a shame they messed up their test bed, looks like they will be shopping for another.

 

Two and a half years ago, while taking the ST type course at the Bell Training Center in Fort Worth there were 6 Bell design engineers crawling all over the 214ST training ship. We were joking with them about Bell coming out with a 414. They kind of winked and said, "Just you wait and see!" They asked us a few questions about what would be useful in a new helicopter that size. I think we told them to just be sure to keep a good solid cargo hook set up not some thing hung off of a composite belly. Anyways, it will be a loooonnnngggggg time before a 525 is seen in a utiltiy role in Canada.

[Bif]

Maybe it's just me, but why is everyone assuming that "a problem with the tail rotor" (as paraphrased in a news article) automatically means the T/R coming off?

 

Seems like a pretty broad term that could mean anything from LTE to hydraulic issues to jammed pedals to T/R failure.

 

Just my $0.02

[MMike]

I blame Obama and the liberal media.

[Grasshopper]

 

Maybe it's just me, but why is everyone assuming that "a problem with the tail rotor" (as paraphrased in a news article) automatically means the T/R coming off?

 

Doesn't its complete absence suggest something to you?