HELICOPTER WARS IN NORTH TEXAS

Helicopter Wars in Texas

North Texas is home to two of the largest and best known helicopter manufacturers in the world. Bell Helicopter, based in Hurst Texas and American Eurocopter based in Grand Prairie Texas.

Bell Helicopter came to Texas in 1950 from Buffalo, New York. Bell was still producing the Model 47 helicopter when it set up operations in Texas, the first U.S. certified commercial helicopter. It was also producing the Sioux H13, military version of the Model 47, which was made famous in the 70s television series M.A.S.H. (Of course it was famous already among the wounded troops whose life it saved in Korea)

See pictures in right column.

In the 1960s Bell Helicopter is well known for the UH1 Iroquois which was called “Huey “by the troops who flew it and fought from it, during the conflict in South East Asia, this helicopter became the icon of the Viet Nam war. During the Viet Nam War, Bell Helicopter also introduced the first helicopter dedicated as a gunship, the AH1 Cobra.

Bell UH1 “HUEY” Huey in Action, Viet Nam
AH-1 Cobra

With the military helicopter contracts of the Viet Nam era, Bell Helicopter rose to prominence as the leading helicopter producer in the world. It had successes with its civilian helicopters too; the most recognized being the Bell 206. There have been other civilian/ commercial helicopters like the model 407 which is one of Bell’s more profitable models and others like the 412,429, 222, and 230.

TOP RIGHT Bell 429, TOP LEFT Bell 412, Bottom Right Bell 206, Bottom Left Bell 407

The once controversial V-22 Osprey is a program for the Marines and Air Force, produced as a joint venture, by both Bell Helicopter and Boeing. This hybrid aircraft called a “tilt rotor” was highly criticized for both its cost in dollars and in lives lost during its development. After being deployed in combat since 2007 in first Iraq and then Afghanistan this aircraft is taking the wind out of the sails of its critics. It has operating costs that are being improved continually and is a game changer in military tactics. Helicopters are comparatively slower, around 150 knots and fly much lower and accelerate to altitude much slower than the V-22 Osprey. Those flying it appreciate its ability to get them up in the air quicker than a helicopter and as it transitions to plane mode it flies closer to 300 knots, twice as fast as a helicopter and they appreciate being out of range of RPG and surface to air weaponry much quicker than they would in helicopters. The range and payload give it the capability to carry 25 plus troops, longer distances than a helicopter and give commanders more options to put a greater number of troops and material on the ground faster and further in a given time span than they could with the same number of helicopters.

Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey

Bell also has modified the OH 58 Kiowa so it can last until a new Army scout helicopter program is ordered in the future. The Kiowa has one of the highest ready mission rates in the combat theatres and was one of the most called on assets in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Along with the Kiowa modification program Bell Helicopter is currently manufacturing the latest models of the Huey and Cobra for the US Marine Corp.

All of the Bell products mentioned above would seem to indicate Bell Helicopter is still the leading producer of helicopters. But that’s far from the truth. Bell Helicopter is now rated number “five” among helicopter manufacturers in the world. Bell has fallen behind in the civilian market and one source said civilian or commercial aircraft only compromise about 16 percent of its total sales.

If Bell loses the military before recapturing a significant portion of the commercial helicopter market it could easily go the way of other famous aircraft companies that are no longer around.

Not giving in without a fight, Bell Helicopter’s newest offering to the commercial helicopter customers of the world is the Bell 525 Relentless, a 16 seat helicopter, it claims is in a new class, “super- medium” . Revealed in 2012, Bell Helicopter hopes to have the first 525 flying no later than 2014.

Bell 525 Relentless

AMERICAN EUROCOPTER

There’s a new kid manufacturing rotorcraft in Texas though, giving Bell lots of fight for rotor craft sales, American Eurocopter. American Eurocopter has US Facilities in Grand Prairie, Texas and in Columbus, Mississippi. American Eurocopter sales of commercial helicopters outpace Bell Helicopter commercial helicopter sales considerably. In fact Eurocopter is the worldwide leader in helicopter sales.

The American Eurocopter commercial products include,

EC120

5 Seat, Single engine

AS350

6 Seat, Single engine

EC130

7-8 Seat, Single engine

AS355

6 seat, Twin engine

EC135

7 seat, Twin Engine

AS365 N3+

11 seat, Twin Engine

EC155

13 seat, Twin Engine

EC175

16/18 passengers, Twin Engine

AS332

19 seat, Twin Engine

EC255

19 seat, Twin Engine

American Eurocopter is also producing the UH-72A Lakota light utility helicopter for the US Army.

The Lakota can carry up to 9 troops and its twin engines have a advertised fast cruise speed of 133 knots.

American Eurocopter X3

The latest offering by American Eurocopter is a hybrid aircraft as revolutionary as the Bell Boeing V22 but without the complexities of the tilt rotor making it a possible lower cost alternative. The X3 has two engines on wings like an aircraft and a rotor like a helicopter. It flies around 267 mph and offers the future possibility of large, heavier, production models that have the advantages of a tilt rotor in terms of speed and if it can hold its speed advantage over a helicopter as it is made larger and heavier, say in the medium lift category, it will be a lower cost alternative to the Osprey albeit not quite as fast but definitely price competitive.

In the coming months and years the commercial market is forecast to improve. American Eurocopter is a tough competitor when compared in terms of cost of labor and number of commercial products, to what Bell Helicopter can offer.

Bell is known for its quality and service, in fact has been ranked higher in customer service than other helicopter and aircraft manufacturing companies for several years in a row. Without capturing a large military contract or finding a niche in the commercial helicopter market, Bell Helicopter has a tough job trying to win back the market it once dominated. American Eurocopter will be giving it a tough fight in terms of trying to take away Bell Helicopter’s reign as” number one in service” too.

Both companies are winners, not just for customers who need competition to keep rotor craft costs low; they are winners for Texas in that they have high paying manufacturing jobs which keep the Texas economy strong both in monetary terms and in terms of the technical capabilities of its aerospace workers.

China sets in the background with the money and the market to woo these two great aerospace companies. Hopefully Bell and American Eurocopter appreciate the need to keep the technical expertise of producing advanced rotorcraft in the US and Europe. I would hate to see the US and Europe giveaway the aerospace lead we have enjoyed that pays not just high wages to workers, it also gives us a military advantage that one would think is still needed in a world concerned that even nuclear weapons can end up in the hands of mad men bent on changing the world order.

Texas Aviation Online salutes both Bell Helicopter and American Eurocopter for their innovative aircraft. Rotorcrafts in particular save lives around the world every day. Rotorcraft are there at every disaster going where fixed wing aircraft cannot go and performing missions fixed winged aircraft are not designed for. Texans are fortunate to have two rotorcraft manufactures in their state, that provide products that save lives around the world and products that defend the interests of the US and our allies, not to mention they provide a great deal to the health of the Texas economy.

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