Newly registered to BCal Helicopters just a month before this show appearance, this B214 ditched 12nm NE of Frazerburgh on 15th May 1986 following collective control failure on a return flight from Sumburgh to Aberdeen. It was recovered, repaired and sold to Bristow Australia as VH-LHT, changing to VH-BEE. After reverting to G-BKFN with Bristow in 1995, to LZ-CAW but again returned with UK reg. In 2007 became N727HT then C-GDYZ in 2010 with Helicopter Transport Services Canada. Crashed on 7th June 2021 during fire suppression ops near Nipigon in Ontario after tail rotor failure. Repaired again

The Bell 214ST was originally developed as a military project from the Bell 214B BigLifter, specifically for production in Iran, but after the overthrow of the Shah such plans were cancelled. Bell decided to proceed with marketing it for the civil market and this was their demonstrator helicopter, the registration later being used on another B214

N724HT, one of the eyecatcher at the Verticon 2025 event, was airlifted to Greece in late April 2025 for the fire season, where it mainly flew out of Rhodos. McDermott operates the largest Bell 214 Series fleet, and has around a dozen single engine Bell 214B-1 Big Lifters and approx. the same number of the twin engine Bell 214ST Super Transport. N724HT is a 1988 built heli which till September 2018 was operated in Japan as JA9683 for the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. Briefly became C-FHTS with Helicopter Transport Services Canada in 2019, then N724HT in July 2024.

Photo by Vance Vasquez

Previously registered JA9683 and C-FHTS, N724HT is now with Australia's largest Heli-Aviation Company, McDermott Aviation. Having acquired the type certificate and remaining Bell 214ST stock from Erickson Air Crane, the company is planning to restart production of the big utility helicopter.

Sold in Australia as VH-LHU in October 1992. Bob Kerr photo

N391AL is McDermott Aviations first Bell 214ST. Fitted with an Australian designed and manufactured Helitak under belly tank. Flying as Helitak 347 for fire season 2021.

Taking on water during ongoing operations to counter potential wildfires in the Athens area of Greece.

Registered on 16 August 1982 to Caledonian Helicopters Ltd, Redhill. Cancelled on 3 October 2000. Exported to USA. N3540R.

Registered on 7 December 1982 to Caledonian Helicopters Ltd, Redhill. Cancelled 1 August 1997, exported to USA as N392AL.

Registration cancelled on 9 December 1991 on sale to Australia as VH-LHT then re-registered as VH-BEE. Restored as G-BKFN on 16 March 1995 , then cancelled again on 4 August 1995 on sale to Bulgaria as LZ-CAW. Restored as G-BKFN on 23 November 1995 and cancelled on 15 October 2007 on sale to the USA as N727HT, then became C-GDYZ.

Operating on behalf of the Victorian Government is McDermott Aviation's Bell 214ST flying as Helitak 347.

Part of the Navy Museum at U-Tapao is this Bell 214ST, 2305.

Bell 214ST N31853 was one of several helicopters based at New Orleans Lakefront Airport for flight demos during the HAI Heli-Expo 1985 which was held at the downtown convention center. It's painted in the new Air Logistics colours. Bell later took N31853 on an Europe sales tour in 1985 that included the Paris Air Show. It then joined Helikopter Service in Norway as LN-OML and became the SAR helicopter based on the Statfjord B platform. On 3 October 1990 it was searching for a missing seaweed trawler in a bad storm near Askvoll in the Sogn area when it hit a mountain on Alden Island. 5 killed.

The first and only time I saw this helicopter. Resting at the heliport of the Mariscal Sucre Intl. Airport. After operating in Ecuador as HC-CQL, this helicopter went to the Philippines as N745H (which was also its previous reg).

An early one of 96 examples produced by Bell. Unfortunately, this one crashed during a maintenance test flight on October 23, 1985.