Karolyn Wellings, operations director of the UK-based Dragon Helicopters, rates the Bell 206L a sterling workhorse but she is not happy with the availability of spare parts. “On a couple of occasions, we, as operators of the aircraft, have been left telephoning round the world to locate parts and arrange delivery as maintenance companies seem to be either unwilling or unable to go outside their usual suppliers.”

Wellings adds: “You would think that, for such a commonly operated aircraft, spares would not be a problem. However, we have had a couple of instances where there have been delays. The necessary part can usually be located but may be in the Far East, for example. However, once found parts can usually be FedExed overnight from the United States or wherever they are.”

Dragon Helicopters sub-contracts the Bell 206L maintenance to Part 145 approved organisations. “There has been no feedback of any particular problems working on the aircraft. I guess 206 have been around for so long that most such issues have been ironed out.”

Wellings says: “Undoubtedly the best feature of the B206L is its ability to carry six passengers. We get many charter enquiries specifically because we can take this many passengers in one machine and, being a single-engined aircraft, it is cheap to operate and therefore we can quote competitively.”

She adds: “Compared to the JetRanger (four passengers) it is much more cost-effective to operate, and it is ideal for work such as pleasure flying and shuttling into events like the Silverstone Grand Prix where large numbers of people need to be moved over a short period of time. Also, because LongRangers have nodal beam transmission suspension, they are a lot smoother than JetRangers, making for a more pleasant passenger experience. This aspect is also very useful for filming work where a smooth flight is very important.”

The B206L-1 served Dragon Helicopters for many years after being manufactured in the early 1980s. Wellings says: “We imported the aircraft from the United States in 2003. It was bought from a private owner in Reno and my partner in Dragon Helicopters, Bob Alexander, flew the aircraft from Reno to Cincinnati where it was crated up and flown over to the UK in a 747.”

The aircraft was then put onto the G-register and was operated by Dragon Helicopters until recently when it was transferred on to the AOC of HJS Helicopters based at Culter Helipad just outside Aberdeen in Scotland. “Dragon Helicopters is working with HJS as it has been based in Scotland since the closure of Sheffield City Airport last year. The aircraft will continue to perform similar sorts of work – charter, filming, pleasure flying and training.”

HJS Helicopters is an established helicopter training, charter and maintenance organisation whose services include tours and transfers, film and photography, wedding and sports charter. Wellings notes that the B206L-1 has been out of production for many years but that the Bell 206L-4 and the 407 use a similar fuselage. “I expect these are very good aircraft with many improvements over our old one, but for the budget end of the market where we operate, the older 206s make sterling workhorses,” she adds.

Peter Thoma of Heliteam Sud and Helga Bihlmaier of Egle Air Service (EAS) agree that the most desirable upgrades are all included in the Bell 407. “The best aspect is that the 206L III is very versatile and dependable,” Thoma says. Thoma, Bihlmaier and Robert Rucker of Agrarflug-Helilift are among those very satisfied with the maintenance support, dispatch reliability, operating capability and value. Bihlmaier says the best aspect is the long cabin and economical operation cost and the worst aspect the limited payload. Rucker says: “The best thing about the 206 L3 is that is is reliable.”

Manufacturer’s comment

Bell says: “Our customer support organisation strives to fulfill parts orders in a timely manner and works hard to maintain our reputation as the premier rotorcraft support organisation. We are looking at alternatives to improve the supply of parts for all our products and have made significant progress in this area and are currently running at over 90% in filling orders.”