Textron Bell Helicopter
Thinking above and beyond is what we do. For more than 90 years, we’ve been reimagining the experience of flight – and where it can take us. We are pioneers. We were the first to break the sound barrier and to certify a commercial helicopter. We were aboard NASA’s first lunar mission and brought advanced tiltrotor systems to market. Today, we’re defining the future of on-demand mobility. Headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas – as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Textron Inc., – we have strategic locations around the globe. And with nearly one quarter of our workforce having served, helping our military achieve their missions is a passion of ours. Above all, our breakthrough innovations deliver exceptional experiences to our customers. Efficiently. Reliably. And always, with safety at the forefront. At a Glance: • Founded: July 1935, by Larry Bell • First helicopter flew in 1942 • Certified the first commercial helicopter in 1946 • First tiltrotor flew in 1955 • Nearly 60% of helicopters produced are Bell • 98% of all helicopter missions were pioneered in a Bell product • 8,500+ employee Nous pensons au-delà du vol. Nous avons redéfini l’expérience de vol – et où elle peut nous transporter- depuis plus de 85 ans. Nous sommes des pionniers. Nous avons été les premiers à franchir le mur du son. Nous avons pris part à la première mission de la NASA sur la Lune et nous avons mis en marché des systèmes de rotors basculants évolués. Aujourd’hui, nous façonnons l’avenir de la mobilité sur demande. Alors que le siège social est localisé à Fort Worth, Texas – une filiale en propriété exclusive de Textron Inc- nous avons des sites stratégiquement localisés à travers le monde. Nos innovations révolutionnaires offrent des expériences exceptionnelles à nos clients. Efficacement. Fiablement. Et en mettant toujours la sécurité au premier plan. En résumé: • Fondée : Juillet 1935, par Larry Bell • Premier vol d’hélicoptère en 1942 • Premier vol à rotor basculant en 1955www.bellflight.com
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Search complete. 23 mentions across 17 episodes found for "Textron Bell Helicopter".
Sep 13, 2026
Tim JacksonGUEST
And it's three distinct industries.
Tim JacksonGUEST
And those are aircraft manufacturers, including Boeing, Airbus, Bell Helicopter, and Embraer.
Tim JacksonGUEST
Secondly is airlines, United, Delta, American JetBlue, and Southwest.
Tim JacksonGUEST
Those are just the U.S. airlines.
speaker_1HOST
That's estimated worth is $150 million.
speaker_1HOST
And the prime contractor is Bell Textron.
speaker_1HOST
And that's it.
speaker_1HOST
Next.
Mark WintersGUEST
aerospace engineer.
Mark WintersGUEST
And yeah, did work for Bell Helicopter and for link flight simulations and choppers and jets.
Mark WintersGUEST
That was my thing.
Mark WintersGUEST
Okay.
Chris D'AcostaGUEST
I grew up in Fort Worth, Texas, the youngest of four kids.
Chris D'AcostaGUEST
My dad worked at Bell Helicopter.
Chris D'AcostaGUEST
Aviation was, to some degree, always in our thoughts.
Chris D'AcostaGUEST
You know, the Vietnam War was going on when I was in high school, and all the Hueys that went to Vietnam were part of my family's reckoning at that time.
Towner-WatkinsGUEST
One of the things that Craig Roberts points out is almost every defense contractor located in Vietnam Texas made billions of dollars when LBJ immediately changes the policy on Vietnam and escalates Vietnam, like literally the day after he signed the withdrawal of JFK's drawdown and signed a document saying they were going to increase US military presence in Vietnam.
Towner-WatkinsGUEST
So it was a huge boom to and Bell Helicopter was basically going bankrupt.
Towner-WatkinsGUEST
They would end up with the sole contract to produce over 7000 helicopters for Vietnam.
Towner-WatkinsGUEST
So the military industrial complex wanted JFK gone.
Bob EvansGUEST
Just a couple that come to mind that probably fried me more than anything else was Lyndon Baines Johnson, the President of the United States, and General Westmoreland, the Commander-in-Chief of Vietnam.
Bob EvansGUEST
Guess what helicopter company they owned? Bell Helicopter.
Bob EvansGUEST
What helicopters were used in Vietnam? Anybody got
GooseUNKNOWN
a guess? Well, Bell, but that's a Huey, yeah.
GooseUNKNOWN
Owned by Bell Helicopter.
Bob EvansGUEST
Okay, that's...
Bob EvansGUEST
Making money while you were escalating the troops and sending them to Vietnam.
Fergal SchmudlachHOST
The other problem with Michael Payne's testimony is that he cannot give dates.
Fergal SchmudlachHOST
He does not know when he began working for Bell Helicopter, he doesn't have a firm grasp of when he left school, joined the army, re-enrolled in university, or anything else about his past.
Fergal SchmudlachHOST
Nor is he aware of what level of security clearance he had at Bell.
Fergal SchmudlachHOST
In fact, he cannot even remember what year he married Ruth Hyde.
Fergal SchmudlachHOST
But so it goes.
Fergal SchmudlachHOST
At one point, he is saved from embarrassment, or inadvertent revelation, by Alan Dulles.
Fergal SchmudlachHOST
When Michael Payne is asked about his duties at Bell Helicopter, the following exchange takes place.
Fergal SchmudlachHOST
And then we have a little bit of the exchange.
Dawn LehtoGUEST
Hi, everybody.
Dawn LehtoGUEST
My name is Dawn Leto, and I am a customer service engineer with Bell Helicopters.
Dawn LehtoGUEST
Currently, my region is Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, and Nebraska.
John GrayHOST
All the warmest places in the US.
speaker_4HOST
Yeah.
speaker_4HOST
He dedicates the next 12 years of his life locked in a barn, building prototypes, crashing them, rebuilding them, until he finally invents the Bell Helicopter.
speaker_4HOST
He single-handedly solves the incredibly complex mechanical physics of rotary hover.
speaker_4HOST
He becomes rich, famous, and scientifically validated, and then he essentially washes his hands, says, "Okay, now I understand matter.
speaker_1HOST
Sure.
speaker_0HOST
But Bond just casually straps a Bell Textron jet pack to his back and blasts off into the sky, landing perfectly next to his Aston Martin.
speaker_1HOST
Like it's nothing.
speaker_0HOST
Right.
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