Bell 412
- For an overview of the whole Huey family of aircraft see Bell Huey
Bell 412 | |
---|---|
Bell 412EP of the Los Angeles City Fire Department | |
Role | Multipurpose Utility helicopter |
National origin | United States / Canada |
Manufacturer | Bell Helicopter |
Introduction | 1981 |
Status | In service |
Primary users | Royal Air Force See Operators for others |
Produced | 1979–present |
Number built | over 869 |
Developed from | Bell 212 |
Variants | Bell CH-146 Griffon |
The Bell 412 is a twin-engine utility helicopter manufactured by Bell Helicopter. It is a development of the Bell 212 with the major difference being the composite four-blade main rotor.
Design and development
Development began in the late 1970s with two Bell 212s being converted into 412 prototypes. An advanced four blade main rotor with a smaller diameter replaced the 212's two blade rotor. A Bell 412 prototype first flew in August 1979. The initial model was certified in January 1981 with the deliveries commencing in the same month.[1]
The 412 model was followed by the 412SP (Special Performance) version featuring larger fuel capacity, higher takeoff weight and optional seating arrangements. In 1991, the 412HP (High Performance) variant with improved transmission replaced the SP version in production.[1] The current production version, 412EP (Enhanced Performance), is equipped with a dual digital automatic flight control system. In 2013 Bell introduced the 412EPI which includes an electronic engine control (FADEC) for a PT6T-9 engine upgrade, and a glass cockpit display system similar to the Bell model 429. Also featured is a Garmin touch-screen navigation system, and the BLR Strake and Fast Fin upgrades for improved hover performance.[2]
Over 700 Model 412s (including 260 by AgustaWestland) have been built.[3]
Variants
- Bell 412
- Standard Model with P&WC PT6T-3B
- Bell 412SP
- Special Performance version with P&WC PT6T-3BF engines
- Bell 412HP
- High performance version with P&WC PT6T-3BG or -3D engines
- Bell 412EP
- Enhanced performance version with P&WC PT6T-3DF engines
- Bell 412EPI
- Glass cockpit version with P&WC PT6T-9 electronic controlled engines
- Bell 412CF (CH-146 Griffon)
- 100 custom built utility transport helicopters for the Canadian Forces and based on 412EP and designated by Bell as 412CF
- Bell Griffin HT1
- Advanced training helicopter based on the Bell 412EP, operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) since 1997 as an advanced flying trainer. Operated by the Defence Helicopter Flying School at RAF Shawbury and the Search and Rescue Training Unit at RAF Valley.
- Bell Griffin HAR2
- Search and Rescue helicopter based on the Bell 412EP, operated by No. 84 Squadron RAF since 2003 at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus.
- Agusta-Bell AB 412
- Civil utility transport version, built under license in Italy by Agusta.[4]
- Agusta-Bell AB 412EP
- Italian-built version of the Bell 412EP.[4]
- Agusta-Bell AB 412 Grifone
- Military utility transport version, built under licence in Italy by Agusta.[4]
- Agusta-Bell AB 412 CRESO
- Italian-built version, fitted with a ground surveillance radar.
- NBell 412
- IPTN's licensed product of Bell 412[4]
Operators
The Bell 412 is used by private and commercial operators. It is particularly popular in the oil industries, military and for law enforcement use.
Military operators
- Dominican Air Force (2 on order)[5]
Governmental operators
- Australian Helicopters,[13]
- Emergency Management Queensland[14]
- New South Wales Police Force[15]
- Hunter Region Helicopter Rescue Service
- Various Prefectural Police Departments[24]
- Chicago Fire Department[26]
- Delaware State Police[27]
- Los Angeles City Fire Department[28]
- Los Angeles County Fire Department[29]
- Miami-Dade County Fire Department[30]
- New York City Police Department[31]
- Orange County Fire Authority[32]
- San Diego Fire Department[33]
- United States Park Police[34]
Incidents and accidents
On April 4, 1991, a Bell 412 collided with a small plane carrying United States Senator H. John Heinz III, which killed the senator.
On December 10, 2006, a Bell 412 medical helicopter Mercy Air 2 crashed in mountainous terrain near Hesperia, CA. All 3 crew members on board died.
On February 6, 2008, a Bell 412 crashed due to a malfunction, killing Major General Javed Sultan, the commanding officer for Kohat garrison, along with two brigadiers and five other military personnel in South Waziristan Agency, Pakistan.[35][36]
On April 7, 2009, a Bell 412EP presidential helicopter operated by the Philippine Air Force crashed in bad weather on the slopes of Mount Pulag in Tinoc, Ifugao on a flight from Loakan Airport to Lagawe. All eight on board the helicopter died, including four key aides of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.[37][38]
On November 22, 2010, a Bell 412 belonging to the Cameroon defense forces crashed en route from Douala to the country's capital Yaounde.[39] According to government sources, the aircraft had 3 crew and 2 passengers.
On February 6, 2014, a Bell 412 of Panama Public Forces SENAN, crash on Mamsucum, Guna Yala Indian Reserve, killing Lieutenant Agustín Santos and injuring eight others, including SENAN Executive Director Belsio González. The incident is under investigation, but witness reports a dense fog with reduced visibility in the area. The aircraft was undertaking antidrug operations against drug lords, and was in pursuit of a high speed boat when it crashed in the jungle.[40]
On April 13, 2014, an Augusta-Bell 412 military helicopter slammed into a hangar and crashed as it took off at Julius Nyerere International Airport, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Occupants including Tanzanian Vice President Mohamed Gharib Bilal and other top government officials narrowly survived the crash. The accident investigation is ongoing.[41]
On March 20, 2016, a Bell 412-EP crashed in Poso district while flying in adverse weather conditions. The helicopter was on a mission Sunday to capture the country's most wanted militant when it crashed and burst into flames. The Bell 412-EP helicopter was carrying 13 soldiers and crew when it went down about 35 minutes after taking off from Poso district's Watutau village, said Maj. Gen. Agus Surya Bakti, the regional military chief overseeing South and Central Sulawesi provinces. All 13 people on board died. [42]
Specifications (412EP)
Data from International Directory of Civil Aircraft,[43] Bell 412EP Product Specifications[44]
General characteristics
- Crew: 1-2 pilots
- Capacity: up to 13 passengers, maximum external load of almost 6,614 lb (3,000 kg)[45]
- Length: 56 ft 1 in (17.1 m)
- Rotor diameter: 46 ft (14.0 m)
- Height: 15 ft (4.6 m)
- Disc area: 1,662 ft² (154.4 m²)
- Empty weight: 6,789 lb (3,079 kg)
- Max. takeoff weight: 11,900 lb (5,397 kg)
- Powerplant: 2 × Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6T-3D or PT6T-3DF Twin-Pac turboshafts, 900 shp (671 kW) each
- Fuselage length: 43 ft (13.1 m)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 140 knots (161 mph, 259 km/h)
- Cruise speed: 122 knots (140 mph, 226 km/h)
- Range: 609 mi (up to 980km)
- Service ceiling: 20,000 ft (6,096 m)
- Rate of climb: 1,350 ft/min (6.86 m/s)
- Power/mass: 0.2663 hp/lb (437 W/kg)
See also
- Related development
- Related lists
References
- 1 2 Bell 412. Airliners.net
- ↑ http://investor.textron.com/newsroom/news-releases/press-release-details/2013/Bell-Helicopter-Introduces-the-Bell-412EPI-Boosts-Performance-and-Reliability/default.aspx
- ↑ Bell/Agusta Bell 412 – Medium Transport Helicopter, USA/Italy, Aerospace-Technology.com
- 1 2 3 4 Model 212 Twin Huey: USN-USMC UH-1N / Model 412. Vectorsite.net, 1 December 2007.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 "World Air Forces 2015". Flightglobal Insight. 2015. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
- ↑ "Rossi presentó dos nuevos helicópteros que se incorporarán a la Fuerza Aérea Argentina".
- ↑ "Philippines Air Force Takes Eighth, Final Delivery of Bell 412EP". Aviation International News.
- ↑ "Introduction (Coast guard, Korea, South), Coast guard". janes.com. Retrieved 17 February 2013.
- ↑ "South Korean Coast Guard Bell 412EP". Retrieved 17 February 2013.
- ↑ "กองบินตำรวจ ข่าวสารและกิจกรรม".
- ↑ "Turkey And Georgia Conducted A Naval Exercise". Retrieved 29 December 2012.
- ↑ "Bolivarian Armada of Venezuela". ©Copyright 2012 helis.com. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
- ↑ "Australian Aircraft Register searching for Australian Helicopters Pty Ltd". Civil Aviation Safety Authority Australia.
- ↑ "Queenslanders Gov.t Fleet". qld.gov.au. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
- ↑ "Bell 412EPI helicopter for NSW Police Force".
- ↑ "PF tem mais dois helicópteros que não levantam voo há quase dois anos". CorreioBraziliense.com.br. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
- ↑ http://www.suretequebec.gouv.qc.ca/mission-et-services/publications/depliant-alea.pdf
- ↑ "ARCHIVED - Bell 412 (ASRA)".
- ↑ "Czech-Republic Police". ©Copyright 2012 Helis.com. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
- ↑ "The Border Guard's vessels and aircraft".
- ↑ "Agusta AB-412 in Carabinieri". Retrieved 1 January 2013.
- ↑ "AB-412 Guardia di Finanza". Retrieved 1 January 2013.
- ↑ Roelofs, Erik (April 2012). "Italy's Flying Foresters". Air International. Vol. 82 no. 4. pp. 78–81. ISSN 0306-5634.
- ↑ Information on Japanese Aviation : Police Air Units J-Hangar Space Retrieved May 6, 2016
- ↑ "Helikopterji in oprema". policija.si. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
- ↑ "Great Lake Saviors". Vertical Magazine. 16 November 2011.
- ↑ "Delaware Marks 40 Years of Service". © Copyright 2010 by the Airborne Law Enforcement Association. Retrieved 30 December 2012.
- ↑ "LAFD Air Ops". Retrieved 30 December 2012.
- ↑ "L.A. County Fire". Retrieved 30 December 2012.
- ↑ "Miami-Dade-Fire-Rescue". © 2012 Miami-Dade County.gov. Retrieved 30 December 2012.
- ↑ "NYPD Bell 412". ©Copyright 2012 Helis.com. Retrieved 30 December 2012.
- ↑ "Orange County Fire Authority's New Bell 412 Fire and Rescue Helicopters". ©Copyright 2012 FDNNTV.com. Retrieved 30 December 2012.
- ↑ "San-Diego-Fire signs for Bell-412". 2012 Copyright Shephard Press Limited. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
- ↑ "Bald Eagle Rescue is a team effort". Retrieved 31 December 2012.
- ↑ "Kohat GOC, six other officers die in copter crash: Technical fault caused accident: ISPR". Dawn. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
- ↑ "General killed in Pakistan crash". BBC News. 6 February 2008. Retrieved 2013-03-18.
- ↑ Missing govt chopper supposed to return due to bad weather
- ↑ No survivors in chopper crash
- ↑ "Cameroon Military aircraft crash report - official version". news.cameroon-today.com.
- ↑ "Un muerto y ocho heridos deja caída de helicóptero". Retrieved 2014-02-07.
- ↑ "Bilal, Magufuli escape death in copter crash". 14 April 2014.
- ↑ "Indonesia helicopter crash: 13 dead, body of a missing soldier discovered". 20 March 2016.
- ↑ Frawley, Gerald. The International Directory of Civil Aircraft, 2003/2004, p. 45. Aerospace Publications, 2003. ISBN 1-875671-58-7.
- ↑ Bell Helicopter, January 2006
- ↑ "Bell / Agusta Bell 412". Aerospace Technology.
- Hoyle, Craig. "World Air Forces Directory". Flight International, Vol. 180 No. 5321, 13–19 December 2011. pp. 26–52.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bell 412. |
- Bell 412 page
- Bell 412 page and Bell 412 photos on airliners.net
- Bell / Agusta 412 page on aerospace-technology.com
- Bell 412EPI Utility Helicopter on airrecognition.com
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