Departure
72%
vs 95% ▼ 23
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
The Bell 206B3 JetRanger III is a five-place, single-engine light utility helicopter built by Bell Helicopter, the final and most powerful variant of the classic 206 JetRanger family that grew out of Bell's unsuccessful entry for the US Army's Light Observation Helicopter competition. Renowned for its docile handling, simple systems and rugged reliability, it became one of the most widely used civil helicopters in the world, serving in police, corporate, training, utility and light military roles. For a simulator pilot it represents the archetypal Bell light turbine helicopter: predictable, forgiving and instantly recognisable.
The Bell 206B3 JetRanger III is a single-engine, two-bladed light helicopter manufactured by Bell Helicopter, seating one pilot and up to four passengers. It is the final development of the Bell 206 JetRanger line, itself derived from Bell's YOH-4 entrant for the US Army's Light Observation Helicopter programme of the early 1960s. Redesigned for the civil market after losing that military contract to the Hughes OH-6, the JetRanger went on to become one of the most successful and enduring light helicopters ever produced, used across law enforcement, corporate transport, news, utility and training roles, and later selected in modified form by the US Army as the OH-58 Kiowa.
The lineage begins with Bell's D-250 design, submitted in response to a 1960 US Navy request for proposals on behalf of the Army for a Light Observation Helicopter. Bell and Hiller were announced as winners of the design competition in May 1961, and Bell developed its design into the YOH-4A, of which five prototypes were built for Army evaluation; the first flew on 8 December 1962. Nicknamed 'The Ugly Duckling', the YOH-4A was eliminated in May 1965 when the Hughes OH-6 was selected instead. Bell then reworked the airframe for the commercial market, giving it a sleeker, more appealing fuselage with an extra 16 cubic feet of cargo space, and named the result the Bell 206A JetRanger. The first 206A flew on 10 January 1966, received FAA certification on 20 October 1966, and deliveries began on 13 January 1967, the first aircraft going to Harry Holly, CEO of the Hollymatic Corporation. The design was later adapted for military use and selected by the US Army as the OH-58 Kiowa. The JetRanger line progressed through the 206B JetRanger II, with an uprated 250-C20 engine, to the 206B-3 JetRanger III, fitted with the more powerful 250-C20B, -C20J or -C20R engine and a modified tail rotor; many earlier 206A and 206B airframes were subsequently upgraded to 206B-3 standard. Bell ended production of the 206B-3 in 2010, by which time more than 7,300 Bell 206-family helicopters had been built since 1962. It was succeeded in Bell's line-up by the Bell 505 Jet Ranger X from around 2015, aimed at the same five-seat market and at competing with the Robinson R66.
The JetRanger III retains the classic Bell 206 layout: a two-bladed, semi-rigid, under-slung main rotor 33 feet 4 inches (10.160 metres) in diameter, turning at 394 rpm (100% NR), with blades of 1 foot 1 inch chord, 10 degrees of negative twist and a symmetrical airfoil, controlled through hydraulically boosted cyclic and collective. The two-bladed, semi-rigid tail rotor, 5 feet 6 inches (1.676 metres) in diameter, is mounted on the left side of the tailboom in a pusher configuration and turns at 2,550 rpm. The turboshaft engine sits above the fuselage roof aft of the main transmission, with output shafts running forward to the transmission and aft to the tail rotor 90-degree gearbox; the transmission and rotor mast are tilted slightly forward and to the left to assist lift-off to a hover, offset translating tendency, and keep the cabin near-level in cruise. A vertical fin offset 4 degrees to the right unloads the tail rotor in cruise, and fixed horizontal stabilisers with an inverted asymmetric airfoil provide download to keep the cabin level in forward flight. The JetRanger III is powered by a single Allison 250-C20B, -C20J or -C20R turboshaft engine, rated at 420 shaft horsepower at 105% N1 (53,519 rpm); these are very light engines, weighing between 141 and 173 pounds. The main transmission is limited to a maximum input of 317 shaft horsepower (100% torque, five-minute limit). Overall length is 38 feet 9.5 inches (11.824 metres) and height on standard skid gear is 9 feet 4 inches (2.845 metres). Typical configuration is one pilot, seated in the right front seat with dual controls optional, plus four passengers. Standard fuel capacity is 610 pounds (91 US gallons). Empty operating weight is approximately 1,730 pounds, with a maximum takeoff weight of 3,200 pounds, or 3,350 pounds with an external load on the cargo hook. The aircraft is certified for VFR operation only, not IFR.
Normal cruise speed is 113 knots true airspeed, with a maximum operating speed (Vmo) of 118 knots indicated airspeed and a never-exceed speed (VNE) of 150 miles per hour (241 kilometres per hour) up to 3,000 feet. Best rate of climb (Vy) is achieved at 60 miles per hour (97 kilometres per hour), giving a normal climb rate of around 1,280 feet per minute. Service ceiling is 13,500 feet, with a hover ceiling in ground effect (HIGE) of 12,800 feet and out of ground effect (HOGE) of 8,800 feet. Range with tanks full or seats full is 365 nautical miles. In autorotation, best speed for minimum rate of descent and maximum distance is 80 miles per hour (129 kilometres per hour), giving a glide ratio of about 4:1. The tilted rotor mast and offset tail fin give the JetRanger benign, well-mannered handling in cruise, and the hydraulically boosted controls make the aircraft light and responsive to fly.
The initial 206A used the Allison 250-C18 (T63-A-700) engine producing a maximum of 317 shaft horsepower and was FAA-certified in 1966. The 206B JetRanger II introduced an uprated 250-C20 engine of 370 horsepower. The 206B-3 JetRanger III, covered here, fitted the more powerful 250-C20B, -C20J or -C20R engine rated at 420 shaft horsepower together with a modified tail rotor; many 206A and 206B airframes were subsequently upgraded to 206B-3 configuration. The airframe was also developed into the military OH-58 Kiowa light observation helicopter for the US Army, and licence-built variants were produced in Italy. A stretched seven-seat derivative, the 206L LongRanger, appeared from 1975 with a lengthened fuselage and progressively uprated Allison 250-series engines through the L-1, L-3 and L-4 models; more than 3,800 LongRangers were built before production ended in June 2017. Twin-engine derivatives included the Tridair Gemini ST conversion of the LongRanger and the factory-built 206LT TwinRanger, of which thirteen were produced between 1994 and 1997 before Bell replaced it with the 427.
The JetRanger family has been used worldwide across law enforcement (including the Los Angeles Police Department), corporate and executive transport, electronic news gathering, utility and agricultural work, flight training, and light military duties, with military derivatives such as the OH-58 Kiowa and Sweden's Hkp 6C serving in observation and liaison roles. The type's reliability and simplicity made it a mainstay of general commercial helicopter operations for decades, and used 206B-3s were still selling for around 1.4 million US dollars in 2011, some years after production ended. The JetRanger III also featured in notable long-distance flying: in 1982-83 Dick Smith flew a standard-production 206B-3, registered VH-DIK and named Australian Explorer, on the first solo helicopter circumnavigation of the globe, a journey of roughly 32,258 miles completed in three legs (Hurst, Texas, to London; London to Sydney; and Sydney back to Hurst) over more than 260 flight hours, including the first solo helicopter crossing of the Atlantic and setting five FAI speed-over-a-recognised-course records along the way. An auxiliary fuel tank fitted for such long-range flights effectively doubled the JetRanger III's normal range.
In the simulator the JetRanger III should feel like the archetypal light Bell turbine helicopter: a semi-rigid, under-slung two-blade main rotor gives the characteristic slightly heavier, more damped feel through the cyclic compared with rigid or fully articulated rotor designs, while the hydraulically boosted controls keep stick forces light. The tilted rotor mast and offset tail fin are designed to keep the cabin level and reduce translating tendency, so the aircraft should transition smoothly from hover to forward flight with modest pilot workload. With 420 shaft horsepower on tap but the transmission limited to 317, performance is adequate rather than brisk, with a cruise speed around 113 knots, and the aircraft is not equipped for instrument flight, so it suits VFR-oriented flying. Its favourable autorotation characteristics, with a glide ratio of about 4:1, make it a good platform for practising engine-out procedures. The type's ubiquity in real-world police, EMS, news and training roles makes it a natural and popular choice for simulator pilots wanting a classic, forgiving light single-engine helicopter.