Bell Helicopter announced last month a supplemental type certificate (STC)–free to operators–that increases the maximum takeoff weight of its 206B-series JetRanger to 3,350 pounds from 3,200 pounds. It was initially unclear whether the 150-pound increase also applied to Bell’s earlier Rolls-Royce 250-C20-powered 206Bs and B2s, or only the follow-on B3s with their 250-C20B and J engines (the current -C20J version involves only a minor gearing change from the -C20B to reduce the noise level). A Bell spokesman answered, “The STC is intended to apply to the entire commercial 206B fleet. No specific 206B structural minimum configuration is necessary for the STC.” In addition, Bell said, “The STC would also apply to any Model 206A modified by SI 206-80, which installed the 250-C20 engine [replacing the 250-C18], upgrading the 206A to a 206B.”
According to Ron Bower, of Bower Helicopter, Austin, Texas, the JetRanger series has had a total production run of some 4,560 helicopters; 2,358 of them are B3s, which first appeared in mid-1977. (Bell still builds JetRangers and sold 10 last year, as well as a number of trainers for the U.S. Army.)
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