Bell 206A JetRanger
The first JetRanger — Bell's rejected Army scout reshaped into a sleek five-seat turbine helicopter · First flight 1966 · In service 1967
Bell's YOH-4A, first flown on 8 December 1962, lost the US Army's Light Observation Helicopter fly-off to the Hughes OH-6 in May 1965; its bulbous shape had earned it the nickname 'Ugly Duckling'. Bell redesigned the fuselage into a sleeker, roomier five-seat cabin with a 16 cubic-foot baggage hold and named it JetRanger, as the turbine successor to the Model 47J Ranger.
The 206A flew on 10 January 1966, was shown at the Helicopter Association convention later that month and received FAA certification on 20 October 1966. Deliveries began on 13 January 1967. It used the 317 shp Allison 250-C18 and a two-blade teetering rotor, and Agusta built it under licence in Italy as the AB 206A for civil and military customers including the Italian and Swedish armed forces.
In 1968 the 206A was chosen twice by the US military: as the Navy's TH-57A Sea Ranger trainer and, after the Army reopened its scout competition, as the OH-58A Kiowa. From 1971 it was replaced on the line by the more powerful 206B, and 206As could later be converted to 206B standard.
