The Bell 407 is a four-blade, single-engine, civilian utility helicopter. It is based on the Bell 206L-4 LongRanger but with the rigid rotor with composite hub that was developed for the US Army OH-58D Kiowa Warrior ( Bell 406 )
First Flight was June 29, 1995 and the 1,000th helicopter was delivered on June 15, 2010. As of December 2017, more than 1400 Bell 407 of all variants were delivered.
The Bell 407 features a baggage compartment with 16 cubic feet (0.45 m³) of volume and a weight capacity of approximately 250–300 pounds (113–136 kg).
Upgrades:
407GX : Rolls Royce 250-C47B and Garmin G1000H glass cockpit
407GXP : Rolls Royce 250-C47B/8 and Garmin G1000H
407GXi : Rolls Royce 250-C47E/4 and Garmin G1000H NXi
As of 2023, there are 1,590 Bell 407 helicopters operating around the world, 109 located in Europe.
First Flight was June 29, 1995 and the 1,000th helicopter was delivered on June 15, 2010. As of December 2017, more than 1400 Bell 407 of all variants were delivered.
The Bell 407 features a baggage compartment with 16 cubic feet (0.45 m³) of volume and a weight capacity of approximately 250–300 pounds (113–136 kg).
Upgrades:
407GX : Rolls Royce 250-C47B and Garmin G1000H glass cockpit
407GXP : Rolls Royce 250-C47B/8 and Garmin G1000H
407GXi : Rolls Royce 250-C47E/4 and Garmin G1000H NXi
As of 2023, there are 1,590 Bell 407 helicopters operating around the world, 109 located in Europe.
Specifications
| Engine | 1 x Allison 250-C47 700 shp |
|---|---|
| Capacity | 1 + 6 |
| Length (m) | 12.7 |
| Height (m) | 3.56 |
| Blades | 4 |
| Rotor diam. (m) | 10.67 |
| Disc area (m2) | 89 |
| Weight (kgs) | Empty: 1210 Max: 2722 |
| Speed (km/h) | Cruise: 246 Max: 260 |
| Range (km) | 598 |
| Ceiling (m) | 5698 |
Derivatives & Versions
| → 427 | 1997 | First announced at the Heli Expo 1996 in Dallas, the Bell 427 is a twin engine helicopter developed in partnership with Samsung Aerospace Industries (later KAI) of South Korea. |
| ARH-70 Arapaho | 2006 | The Bell 445, military designation ARH-70A Arapaho, was designed for the US Army Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH) program in order to replace the aging OH-58D Kiowa Warrior with a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) already existing model. |
| Fire-X | 2010 | Launched in 2010, the Fire-X was a Vertical Unmanned air System ( VUAS ) developed by Northrop Grumman Corporation and Bell Helicopter. |
| 407AH | 2011 | Announced at Heli-Expo 2011, an armed version of the civil 407 equipped with nose FLIR, weaponry 7. |
| 407GX | 2011 | The GX features a Garmin G1000 H-model glass cockpit with two 10. |
| 407GT | 2013 | Armed version of the Bell 407GX introduced in Heli-Expo 2013 at Las Vegas |
| → 407HP | 2013 | Eagle Copters conversion of the Bell 407 by replacing the existing Rolls-Royce 250-C47B engine with a 1,021-shafthorsepower Honeywell HTS900-2 making it competitive with the AS350B3, which has long dominated the light utility helicopter market for operations at higher altitudes. |
| → MQ-8C Fire Scout | 2013 | Based on the Bell 407 Fire-X provide greater endurance, range and payload capacity than the previous MQ-8 A/B variants. |
| 407GXP | 2015 | First unveiled at Heli-Expo 2015 in Orlando, incorporates the reliability and advanced technology of the Bell 407GX platform, and introduces performance improvement, payload increase and pilot workload reduction. |
| 407GXi | 2018 | First announced at Heli-Expo 2018 in Las Vegas, the Bell 407GXi incorporates the new Garmin’s G1000H NXi Integrated Flight Deck, an upgraded Rolls-Royce M250-C47E/4 dual channel FADEC turbine engine and new executive interior design options. |
| 407M | 2023 | A military variant based on the Bell 407GXi first unveiled in April 2023 at the US Army Aviation Association of America Mission Solutions Summit in Nashville, TN |