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Bell 210


Guest Aggroeitch

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Guest Aggroeitch

Hello all,

 

I've been searching info about Bell 210 sales figures but can't seem to find any. Tried search also but with not much luck, 210 is too short "word" for the searchengine and "Bell" gives about 1,57 billion hits :wacko: . Google doesn't seem to know the answer...Does anyone know if there's any 210's being sold for civilian operators anywhere?

 

Also there's not much information of the specs in Bell's website, just very basic figures. GW seems to be equal to 205 (if my memory serves), external load up a bit but is it capable of lifting that in "the real world"? From those basic figures seems as it would not be much more capable than old 205 :unsure:

 

If there's anyone operating or flying 210, i'd also like to know about the cost of operation. When Bell released 210 they said it would be considerably cheaper to operate that 205/ UH-1H, but is it really so?

 

If there's a topic about 210 which i couldn't find, i apologize.

 

Aggroeitch

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Hello all,

 

I've been searching info about Bell 210 sales figures but can't seem to find any. Tried search also but with not much luck, 210 is too short "word" for the searchengine and "Bell" gives about 1,57 billion hits :wacko: . Google doesn't seem to know the answer...Does anyone know if there's any 210's being sold for civilian operators anywhere?

 

Also there's not much information of the specs in Bell's website, just very basic figures. GW seems to be equal to 205 (if my memory serves), external load up a bit but is it capable of lifting that in "the real world"? From those basic figures seems as it would not be much more capable than old 205 :unsure:

 

If there's anyone operating or flying 210, i'd also like to know about the cost of operation. When Bell released 210 they said it would be considerably cheaper to operate that 205/ UH-1H, but is it really so?

 

If there's a topic about 210 which i couldn't find, i apologize.

 

Aggroeitch

 

 

The reason you can't find any info is because the 210 was a total failure for Bell. Who would spend 3 million for a basic re-build of your own Helicopter? Bell dropped the ball big-time on this one. If they dropped the price about 2 million, they might have gotten some orders....but they quietly dropped the whole program because they had no customers. Eagle's 212S is the best game in town. The 210 was a zero-timed 205 airframe built up from your own machine to a 205B configuration. Bell built 3-5 205B's and stopped production....the 210 was, for all intents and purposes, a re-hash of the 205B....and at last word, didn't even have certification for ANY external-load.

 

Anybody with a 205 airframe can up-grade them to the ++ configuration for less than a million or so....the only thing Bell offered was a zero-timed airframe. Throw a set of 212 blades, and a -17 T53 engine on your current 205 and you effectively have a 210 less the 212 nose. The original 205 nose also allowed the installation of the dual-battery STC....another great mod. Unfortunately, the dual battery mod is not STC'd in the 212 nose.....

 

The 210 seemed like a great idea, but somehow lost a lot in the translation. For Bell, back to the drawing board. Too bad the 412 is such a dud for commercial land-based operation. Bell needs to up-grade the basic 205, single-engine concept with improved T/R driveshaft, better hydraulic servos, and my personal pet-peeve, the starter-generator with a wet-spline drive. The airframe is basically very sound. It wouldn't have lasted this long without it being a very good design. You just can't go wrong with a Bell medium airframe. What else is out there to replace it?

 

I just love my Huey's

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Guest Aggroeitch
Bell dropped the ball big-time on this one. If they dropped the price about 2 million, they might have gotten some orders....but they quietly dropped the whole program because they had no customers.

So it's not even available anymore?? It sure is on Bell's website....

 

Not all the authorities in the world accept those fancy mods and STC's. 210 seems (seemed)to be the only way to get a "modern" single engine Medium Bell with 0 hours.

 

Thanks for the info.

 

Aggroeitch :wacko:

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Please do not compare past prices and the cost of then-present-day-technology and the corresponding figures from today's world. It doesn't work in any milieu.

 

The 205 went out the door from Bell to the US Army and then on to Vietnam for approximately $250,000 USD per copy under a very large military contract. It has been stated many times by Bell that if the "Huey' Models never existed in the past and if they were to duplicate all resources now that they did back then, the cost of a new Bell 205B today would be approximately $5,000,000 USD in today's dollars. A new civilian version could be bought for approximately $750,000 in 1971 and the rates for operating it reflected the costs of those days. None of those figures would mean anything today.

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...and if they were to duplicate all resources now that they did back then, the cost of a new Bell 205B today would be approximately $5,000,000 USD in today's dollars.

 

But they don't have to "duplicate" it as it already exists. It seems that Bell will "force" whatever (new) they want onto the marketplace.

 

If a ship can be rebuilt and sold today then surely a new one, with all the dies and forms available, can be built at a reasonable cost.

 

But then what would Bell sell then???

 

Doesn't seem to have much to do with market demands, at least, not the ones we see and operate in.

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