Just bought a Bell 206 B3 - dream come true..

[simonspider]

Hi guys, thought I'd share this with you.. I normally post in the Ferrari/Lambo section but more relevant here obviously...

I've always wanted a Jet Ranger since I was about 7 and saw 'The Spy Who Loved Me'. John Crewdson a well known helicopter stunt pilot did the honours in that film with the Lotus Esprit, seems like yesterday when I was watching that with short trousers.

It's a 1990 B3 that has just been refurbed from the ground up with new paint (not my choice) new interior and a sh*t load of engine/box work thanks to an 'overtorque' incident a year or so ago. It flys like a dream and the noise of that Rolls Royce Allison C20 Jet Turbine is the boll*ocks I'm praying I dont get any huge bills at least for a while..

Going to be using it for charter work as well as private. Can't quite believe I've got it I feel like a kid all over again. Hope you like it..

[simonspider]

[odyssey2200]

Have I told you that I hate you?














Looks fantastic.

[simonspider]

Thanks. I'm still pinching myself

[davepoth]

Very, very nice. Although I don't know anything about helicopters, it looks very shiny.

[Lotus Notes]

Go on, wrap it

Very nice, what range has it got?

[JaybirdUK]

Very nice, paint job works well in my opinion. Jet Ranger is nice but I'd take a Bell 222 in Airwolf colours

[simonspider]

Lotus Notes said:

Go on, wrap it

Very nice, what range has it got?

With a full tank about 350-400miles. Cruises about 130knots/150mph.

[anonymous-user]

simonspider][url said:

Don't want to rain on your parade, but i think the wheels have fallen off your chopper......... ;-)

[eharding]

simonspider said:

It's a 1990 B3 that has just been refurbed from the ground up with new paint (not my choice) new interior and a sh*t load of engine/box work thanks to an 'overtorque' incident a year or so ago. It flys like a dream and the noise of that Rolls Royce Allison C20 Jet Turbine is the boll*ocks I'm praying I dont get any huge bills at least for a while..

The chap that runs the Glenforsa Hotel on Mull - if you haven't been up there make a point of doing so, especially as you can land in the back garden unlike us plank drivers who have an extra 100 metre walk to the bar - anyway, the chap that runs it used to run a helicopter maintenance outfit years ago - he says he had to give it up because he couldn't face the sight of grown men crying when he had to present them with the bill...that being said, aviation maintenance bills in general can make you weep.

Lovely bit of kit - enjoy it!

[perdu]

She is a beauty

Always loved Jet Rangers, funnily enough the first aircraft my wife could recognise off her own bat. She still thinks everything smaller than a 737 is a Learjet.

I was lucky enough to be invited with a friend to join him on a Prize Flight he had won in a JetRanger, I loved it.

Simply made me love them even more.


(the wheels, I dont have aviation certificates or such but I probably have a spanner or allen key that could save you the same embarrassment again)

Lucky lucky lucky

Do enjoy her, she's a beauty

edit for thick fingering

[LukeSi]

You need to get it in a proper livery now,

'cough''cough'

And congrats, I'm not jealous

[Eric Mc]

Is there a green with envy smiley?

I'm surprised Perdu hasn't asked for interior shots yet.

[Nightmare]

fabulous Simon - top purchase that man. Ive always wanted one for exactly the same reason!

you know how it needs to be painted

could you pick me up Thursday morning and drop me off in Leicester? would save me a dull drive. ta

[mybrainhurts]

Aaaargh, you fool...

Heckilopters are the Work Of The Devil...

They were not meant to be...

[eharding]

mybrainhurts said:

Aaaargh, you fool...

Heckilopters are the Work Of The Devil...

They were not meant to be...

I used to think that way, being a confirmed fixed-wing bigot, but my experience earlier in the year when something sized between a red-kite and a buzzard decided to ram the rotor-head of an R44 I was sitting in the back of. Big, palpable thump from somewhere above my head, just after a couple of expletives from the front seats - being a plank driver I was doing the only thing useful I could, looking out the sides.

It was a bit of a road-to-Damascus revelation, in that when things go pear-shaped, then you can be in a field in thirty seconds and have zero kinetic energy to get rid of in a helicopter - and use it again later in the day - versus a fixed wing forced landing when if you're lucky you'll use the plank again in 6 months provided you survive arriving in a ploughed field at 90mph. Obviously, if the rotor-head comes off, then you're ferked but that experience was certainly an eye-opener.

[Geneve]

simonspider said:

Cruises about 130knots/150mph.

over the ground with a tail wind, maybe Max cruise 115 kts ias.

MD 500 for speed over comfort. B206 for interior space.

Bell no longer make the 206, although there is much talk of 'new generation' upgrades with the Rolls Royce RR500 and a Chelton panel. And it would be nice to see the TT straps with a longer life.

Think quite a few people have looked at the new Robinson R66 and decided a nice B206 or MD500 or EN480B makes a a better buy.

No finer way to travel.

[perdu]

Eric Mc said:

Is there a green with envy smiley?

I'm surprised Perdu hasn't asked for interior shots yet.

Eric old buddy

whatever do you think I was doing?

in the front seat too?

My camera is my friend

yes I'm bloody jealous too

[ETOPS]

Congratulations, that's a beautiful machine. I'm absurdly jelous, as I have the same childhood dream as you. Mine will likely stay that way, but my word it's lovely when such a dream comes true for someone.

Of the 8+ professional pilot licenses I've acquired over the years and continents, there are only a couple that I bother to maintain - my UK PPL(H) being one of them. They are just quality!

Enjoy it, and fly safe.

[mickrick]

WOW! You've definitely made it.
I like the paint, It's almost identical to an MD500 that was owned by a French fellow I worked for about 15 years ago. (We had it on the back of his yacht, Lovely heli + salt air! Shudder!))
Love Heli's the ultimate toy. Well Done!