1981 :
Delivery of the 25000th helicopter, a 222 to Omniflight Bell is selected as a contractor for the ACAP ( US Army Advanced Composite Airframe program )
1982 : Bell 222B
1982 :
Bell join Boeing in the JVX program ( Joint Services Vertical
Lift Aircraft that will end in the V-22 Osprey.
New sale of 55 TH-57C advanced instrument trainers to the US Navy.
The XV-15 demostrates its capabilities during three days of navy trials aboard the assault carrier USS Tripoli.
Ross Perot Jr and Jay Coburn become the first pilots of an around the world flight in the Spirit of Texas, a Bell JetRanger II.
The flight departed 9/1/82 and returned 9/30/82. It was 29 days, 3 hours, 8 minutes, 13 seconds. The average speed was 56.97 km/h.
Australian pilot Dick Smith departs from Bell in a JetRanger III to fly the first solo flight around the world. ( 35.258 miles )
On August 9, Smith lands in the UK after making the first solo helicopter crossing of the atlantic Ocean
1983 : AHIP
The Army Helicopter Improvement Program prototype makes its first flight and
completes tests with a full-up mast-mounted sight.
AH-1T+ Super Cobra
1983 : Bell Helicopter Canada
The Canadian government selects Bell to establish a helicopter industry in that country.
1984 : Bell 400 TwinRanger
A four-bladed, twin-engine civilian prototype based on the 206. Cancelled.
1984 : Bell 406 Combat Scout
OH-58D Kiowa Warrior
1985 : Bell 412SP
Special Performance variant.
1985 :
A four-bladed Bell Cobra research aircraft performs tactical maneuvers without pilot
hand control . The tests are part of the US Army 's Advanced Technology Integration
ARTI program.
The AH-1T+ is redesignates AH-1W.
The Model D292 developed for the US Army 's Advanced Composite Airframe Program ACAP makes its initial hover flight.
1986 :
The V-22 Osprey after winning a Billion-dollar award fromt the US Navy is approved for
full-scale development by the Department of Defense.
The JetRanger III and the LongRanger III are produced in Quebec, Canada.
The first production OH-58D is delivered to the US Army.
The US Marines take delivery of the first production AH-1W Super Cobra,
1987 :
Bell and Boeing announce the development of the Pointer ,
the world's first
tilt-rotor
unmanned air vehicle ( UAV )
a scaled down version of the V-22
The XV-15 demonstrates civilian applications of tiltrotor aircraft in Chicago and
Washington DC
1988 :
Commercial production of the JetRanger III reaches the 4000 mark.
Bell delivers the 100th helicopter built at the Mirabel Quebec Plant.
