Is the Bell 206 JetRanger still in production?

No. Bell ended JetRanger (206B-3) production in 2010 after 43 years and ended LongRanger (206L) production in 2017. Bell's current new-build single-turbine in the segment is the Bell 505 Jet Ranger X, certified in 2017. Bell Textron continues factory support for the 206 family.

Why do helicopter schools use the Bell 206 for training?

The 206 is the canonical turbine-transition airframe. Most US and European helicopter schools run a piston-helicopter primary trainer (Robinson R22 or R44, Schweizer 300, Guimbal Cabri G2) for ab-initio training, then transition the student onto a 206 for turbine-engine handling, larger / heavier helicopter dynamics, and IFR or commercial training. The 206 bridges the gap to a school's larger-turbine type rating (Airbus H125 / A-Star, Bell 407).

What engine does the Bell 206 use?

The 206B JetRanger uses the Rolls-Royce M250-C20 series turboshaft at roughly 420 shp; the larger 206L LongRanger uses the uprated M250-C30 series at roughly 650 shp. Both are Jet-A fuelled; the engine is one of the most-produced civil helicopter turboshafts in history and is supported by a dense MRO network.

How much does it cost to operate a Bell 206?

Hourly direct operating cost is typically in the 700 to 1,100 USD per hour range for a 206B-3, including Jet-A at roughly 25 gph cruise burn plus engine, transmission, rotor-system, and dynamic-component overhaul reserves. The dynamic-component reserve burden is the dominant cost driver versus fixed-wing piston aircraft; school cost models should reserve against the Bell 206 maintenance schedule rather than against a fixed-wing analogue.

Bell Textron

206 JetRanger / LongRanger

Helicopter (turbine) · Helicopter trainer · Pre-1980 classic

discontinued

Photo: Mfield - Matthew Field, http://www.photography.mattfield.com via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.5

Power: 420 hp
Cruise: 117 kt
MTOW: 3,200 lb
Range: 374 nm
Fuel: Jet-A (diesel piston)

🇺🇸Specs shown in Imperial.

Performance

Cruise speed (Vc)117 kt
Never-exceed speed (Vne)130 kt
Stall (landing config) (Vs0)0 kt
Climb rate1,350 fpm
Service ceiling13,500 ft
Range374 nm
Endurance3 h
Takeoff roll0 ft
Landing roll0 ft

Weights

MTOW3,200 lb
Empty weight1,816 lb
Useful load1,384 lb
Baggage capacity250 lb

Dimensions

Wingspan33.4 ft
Length39.7 ft
Height9.5 ft
Cabin width48 in

Powerplant

EngineRolls-Royce M250-C20B — 420 hp · Jet-A · 25 gph
Total horsepower420 hp
Primary fuelJet-A (diesel piston)
Unleaded pathJet-A piston diesel

Cockpit & avionics

Cockpit typeanalog
Autopilot commonly availableNo
Typical packages
- Bell factory analog with Honeywell / King radios— 1967–2010 factory
- Garmin GTN 750 / G500H / Sandel retrofit— modern training-fleet retrofit
Training note
Most 206 airframes flying today carry factory analog instruments with retrofit Garmin or Sandel glass. Training fleets often deliberately keep an analog panel for the turbine-transition syllabus, then upgrade for IFR and night-VFR work where applicable.

Certification

RegulatoryFAR Part 27 · EASA CS-27
Certified rolesNormal category helicopter — IFR / day / night · Hoist / external-load operations (with applicable STC)
IFRYes
Spin approvedNo
Aerobatic-categoryNo
TailwheelNo
Complex (FAR 61.31)No
High-performance (FAR 61.31)No

Why is the 206 JetRanger / LongRanger popular?

Structured popularity-driver evidence. Each axis below carries one factual statement; we don't grade, the facts speak.

Production volume

Roughly 7,700 Bell 206 family helicopters were built across the JetRanger and LongRanger lines between 1967 and 2017 — one of the largest civil turbine-helicopter production runs in history. Many remain active in commercial, utility, and training roles.

Industry network effects

Long-running JetRanger fleet at US helicopter training schools and ATOs provides the canonical pathway from a piston trainer (Robinson R22 / R44, Schweizer 300) into a turbine helicopter. Bell Textron parts and Rolls-Royce M250 engine support networks are dense across North America and Europe.

Regulatory fit

Five-seat (206B) and seven-seat (206L) FAR Part 27 / EASA CS-27 helicopters used for turbine-transition training, ATPL-H training, and on the line in EMS, corporate, and utility operations. The type bridges the piston / turbine boundary in many helicopter syllabi.

Fuel future-proofing

Rolls-Royce M250 turboshafts burn Jet-A — same fuel as turbine fixed-wing fleets and outside the FAA EAGLE / California UNL94 leaded-fuel transition exposure that constrains the legacy 100LL piston-helicopter fleet.

Before you buy more aircraft

The next airframe is rarely the highest-leverage move.

Flight school revenue is a function of three things — utilisation, dispatch reliability, and student progression — that multiply rather than add. Most schools running below 850 hours per aircraft per year have hidden capacity worth more than the next purchase, already paid for and sitting on the ramp.

Read: Why buying more aircraft probably won't grow your school

Operations

Record hours, no profit

Where margin actually leaks when the schedule looks full.

Strategy

The three hurdles to profitability

The structural barriers most expansion plans miss.

How flight schools track this aircraft in Aviatize

Helicopter schools operating the 206 typically configure it in Aviatize as a single airframe with the Rolls-Royce M250 turboshaft as an engine sub-component and the main transmission, tail-rotor gearbox, main rotor, and tail rotor each modelled as dynamic-component child resources for cycles / time-on-component tracking. Block-hour billing typically uses Hobbs time. Pilot-currency rules should gate the resource on a current rotorcraft category / class certificate and on completion of the type's check-out per the operator's training programme.

schedulingtraining managementaircraft maintenancebilling

Editorial confidence

Medium confidenceLast reviewed 2026-05-26

Variant timeline, engine reference, and certification path attributed to FAA TCDS H2SW and Bell Textron manufacturer references. Helicopter takeoff / landing roll fields populate as 0 because the helicopter operates from a hover; this is a schema artefact rather than a missing data point.

Sources

Primary sources are POH / TCDS / manufacturer pages; derived sources record where Aviatize editorial synthesis is layered on top.

Primary sourceManufacturer brief·Retrieved 2026-05-26
Bell Textron
https://www.bellflight.com/
Bell Textron product line. Verified on 2026-05-26 that the active Bell civil product list features the Bell 505 (1+4 seats) as the in-production light single-turbine — the 206 family is no longer in the marketed line-up. The 505 is positioned as the successor to the 206B JetRanger that ended production in 2010 (LongRanger ended 2017). Legacy 206 factory support continues through Bell customer service.
Primary sourceFAA TCDS·Retrieved 2026-05-14
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
https://drs.faa.gov/browse/TCDS
FAA Type Certificate Data Sheet H2SW covers the Bell 206 family.
Secondary sourceAviatize-internal·Retrieved 2026-05-14
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_206
Wikipedia article aggregating the Bell 206 family production history, variant timeline, and operational context.
Editorial synthesisAviatize-internal·Retrieved 2026-05-14
Aviatize editorial
Entry authored by Aviatize from accumulated industry knowledge cross-referenced against the primary sources cited above. Operator lists are intentionally empty rather than speculative.

Related aircraft

Other training airframes commonly evaluated, operated, or compared alongside the 206 JetRanger / LongRanger.

R22 / R44 family

Robinson Helicopter Company

Helicopter (piston)

Power: 145hp
Fuel: 100LL avgas

Ab-initio / PPLCheckride prepDiscovery flights

Limited revival

Schweizer 300 / Sikorsky S-300

Schweizer Aircraft (RSG, formerly Sikorsky)

Helicopter (piston)

Power: 180hp
Fuel: 100LL avgas

Ab-initio / PPLCheckride prep

Cabri G2

Hélicoptères Guimbal

Helicopter (piston)

Power: 145hp
Fuel: 100LL avgas

Ab-initio / PPLCheckride prep

Photos & credits: each thumbnail opens that aircraft’s page, where the photographer and licence are credited under the hero image.

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