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Here’s a Taste of How Bell Helicopters Get Their Custom Paint Jobs

Bell has been making helicopters since the 1930s. Born as Bell Aircraft Corporation from the mind of Lawrence Dale Bell, it was initially in the business of making fighter aircraft and began its career with the launch of the Aircuda and Aircobra.
Bell 505 10 photos
Photo: Bell
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Bell is also responsible for making America’s first jet fighter, the Airacomet, and the mighty X-1 that became the first-ever aircraft to exceed the speed of sound in 1947. Yet, for all its accomplishments with fixed-wing planes, the company, now called Bell Textron, is most visible in the world of helicopters.

And their portfolio is simply huge, comprising anything from civilian machines like the 505, the cheapest of the lineup, to the military V-247 unmanned tiltrotor. The company makes the military machines in Fort Worth and Amarillo, Texas, while civilian birds are being put together in Quebec, Canada.

It is from there where the video at the bottom of this text comes from, the Commercial Assembly and Delivery Centre where the finishing touches on these machines are made. With a workforce comprising 1,200 employees, the place is responsible, among other things, with “providing customized paint services for its customers."

This clip, freshly released by Bell, shows in time-lapse fashion the paint process for a Bell 505. And for people who have a fetish for such things, it probably looks just like what was needed to kick off the weekend.

A two-man crew in protective overalls is seen going about its business around the body of the bird, the long hoses in their hands spraying black paint all over the body parts.

Then come the special graphics, slapped onto the helicopter outside the main paint room, this time in the form of hexagon-shaped white dots, then white, blue and red stripes on the tail.

Just when you think that’s all there was to it, the 505 goes back in the paint shop to be sprayed black once more, and completely changing the colors previously fitted on it.

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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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