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A few places to begin, from the aircraft’s story to the people who fly it.
Meet the aircraft
The 412 developed from Bell's 212, replacing the earlier main-rotor arrangement with a composite four-blade system. The airframe found both civilian and military customers, and later versions introduced further cockpit and equipment changes. It belongs to the wider Huey family but has its own rotor, performance and systems context.
Aircraft background
Wikipedia contributors · Read more ↗Familiar Huey roots and a long trip home
Charles felt at home in the 412EPX after earlier Huey flying, although the mix of familiar switches and newer displays still offered discoveries. Greg Maitlen accompanied the Arizona demonstration, which included photography, a mountain landing and a simulated engine failure. Bright sunlight made some autopilot buttons difficult to read, and Charles initially used more pedal movement than the helicopter needed. The introduction continued with a lengthy ferry to Colorado.
Vertical · June 2022. Early-May 412EPX demonstration from Falcon Field, Arizona, with Greg Maitlen, followed by a ferry to Colorado; the demonstration aircraft was lightly loaded.
Vertical · Read more ↗Mission equipment gives the utility helicopter work to do
X-Trident’s listing describes a winch and rescue operations, a water-drop system, a NIGHTSUN spotlight and a FLIR camera. It also includes a landing dolly, custom failures and configurable attached objects.
Bell 412 · X-Plane 11 · X-Plane 12
X-Trident · Read more ↗Into the cockpit
YouTube nicolas ruchonnet
Bell 412 Startup
A startup demonstration of the older X-Plane edition; check the current manual for changes.
X-Trident Bell 412; X-Plane 10.35; historical tutorial
Watch on YouTube ↗Preview images are served by AirframeDB. Videos open on YouTube only when you choose to watch.
Meet Bell 412
The 412 developed from Bell's 212, replacing the earlier main-rotor arrangement with a composite four-blade system. The airframe found both civilian and military customers, and later versions introduced further cockpit and equipment changes. It belongs to the wider Huey family but has its own rotor, performance and systems context.
Bell 412
Aircraft type designators
Use the code for the model you are flying. The linked authority lists the applicable aircraft.
History & design
The EPX grows from a long utility lineage
Charles places the 412EPX within the Huey, 212 and 412 family. Bell and Subaru’s development work for Japan’s UH-2 also produced changes offered in the civil EPX, connecting a familiar airframe lineage with a newer programme.
Vertical · Subaru-Bell’s new pickup: the 412EPX ↗Family and programme background reported in 2022
Development milestones
First flight: August 1979 ( 1979-08 )
Developed from: Bell 212
Wikipedia contributors · Bell 412 ↗Bell 412 · family/variant named by the source · Wikipedia revision 1367914534
Pilot accounts
Familiar Huey roots and a long trip home
Charles felt at home in the 412EPX after earlier Huey flying, although the mix of familiar switches and newer displays still offered discoveries. Greg Maitlen accompanied the Arizona demonstration, which included photography, a mountain landing and a simulated engine failure. Bright sunlight made some autopilot buttons difficult to read, and Charles initially used more pedal movement than the helicopter needed.
The introduction continued with a lengthy ferry to Colorado. Mountain winds gave him another reason to appreciate the autopilot, while the absence of the optional fuel-flow display was something he noticed during the journey. By the end of the day, familiarity had grown into affection. His report balances that response with small cockpit frustrations and the conditions of the particular aircraft he flew.
Vertical · June 2022. Early-May 412EPX demonstration from Falcon Field, Arizona, with Greg Maitlen, followed by a ferry to Colorado; the demonstration aircraft was lightly loaded.
Read the full account · Vertical ↗A dark landing site leaves a lasting memory
A nighttime medical call brought McClendon and two nurses towards a road accident in rain showers. Information about obstacles at the proposed landing site was uncertain, and the urgency surrounding the patient added pressure. When the helicopter’s lights revealed power lines, he abandoned the approach and reconsidered how to reach the scene.
After landing, McClendon spoke with the firefighter who had been helping on the ground. The encounter changed the tone of his memory: the man was wet, tired and doing unfamiliar work under difficult circumstances. McClendon remained shaken by how close the approach had come to the wires. His recollection focuses on incomplete communication and the people involved, preserving the discomfort of the event without turning the eventual approach into a technique to copy.
Vertical · November 2024, recalling a Bell 412 medical flight in spring 1991. This is the pilot’s retrospective account, with no exact location given.
Read the full account · Vertical ↗A night flight exposes a problem in the organisation
McClendon joined a programme where the chief pilot discouraged autopilot use, despite the Bell 412 having the equipment installed. Having used automation in other aircraft, he studied the manual and explored the system in clear weather. The experience made him question the assumptions that had kept it out of routine use.
Later, on a return flight around three in the morning, deteriorating visibility led him to use an instrument approach to an airport and arrange an ambulance transfer. Afterwards he concealed the autopilot use from his chief pilot, a detail that exposes the organisation’s poor climate for discussing experience. This is a different event from his power-line recollection.
Vertical · February 2025. A separate recollection from a Midwestern Bell 412 medical programme; exact date and operator are not stated.
Read the full account · Vertical ↗In your simulator
Systems, equipment and documentation for each developer’s aircraft.
X-Plane 11 · X-Plane 12Bell 412
X-Trident · Released
Bell 412
X-Trident · Released
Aircraft specifications
Published figures for the named real-aircraft variant. Simulator equipment and performance can differ.
| Specification | Published value |
|---|---|
| Length | 56 ft 1 in (17.09 m) including rotors |
| Height | 15 ft 0 in (4.57 m) |
| Empty weight | 6,789 lb (3,079 kg) |
| Max takeoff weight | 11,900 lb (5,398 kg) |
| Powerplant | 1 × Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6T-3D Twin-Pac or PT6T-3DF Twin-Pac coupled turboshaft engine - each, 1,250 shp (930 kW) |
| Main rotor diameter | 46 ft 0 in (14.02 m) |
| Main rotor area | 1,662 sq ft (154.4 m² ) |
| Maximum speed | 140 kn (160 mph, 260 km/h) |
| Cruise speed | 122 kn (140 mph, 226 km/h) |
| Range | 529 nmi (609 mi, 980 km) |
| Service ceiling | 20,000 ft (6,100 m) |
| Rate of climb | 1,350 ft/min (6.9 m/s) |
Manuals & resources
Find your next read
Choose a topic for a short introduction and a link to the original source. Simulator references identify the developer and edition they cover.
Simulator documentation
Mission equipment gives the utility helicopter work to doBell 412 · X-Trident · X-Plane 11 · X-Plane 12
X-Trident’s listing describes a winch and rescue operations, a water-drop system, a NIGHTSUN spotlight and a FLIR camera. It also includes a landing dolly, custom failures and configurable attached objects.
Gathered X-Plane.org developer listing · retrieved September 2026
X-Trident · Read the source ↗The X-Plane versions have different update historiesBell 412 · X-Trident · X-Plane 11 · X-Plane 12
The listing supports X-Plane 11 and 12, while identifying the 5.x updates as X-Plane 12-specific. Version 5.0 added rain and wiper effects and individual loading sliders; 5.1 added Apple Silicon support. The displayed 5.2 date conflicts between the summary and history, so it is not used as a reliable chronology.
Gathered listing · version history 4.0–5.2
X-Trident · Read the source ↗Pilot account
Familiar Huey roots and a long trip homeVertical · June 2022. Early-May 412EPX demonstration from Falcon Field, Arizona, with Greg Maitlen, followed by a ferry to Colorado; the demonstration aircraft was lightly loaded.
Charles felt at home in the 412EPX after earlier Huey flying, although the mix of familiar switches and newer displays still offered discoveries. Greg Maitlen accompanied the Arizona demonstration, which included photography, a mountain landing and a simulated engine failure. Bright sunlight made some autopilot buttons difficult to read, and Charles initially used more pedal movement than the helicopter needed. The introduction continued with a lengthy ferry to Colorado.
Michael Maya Charles
Vertical · Read the source ↗A dark landing site leaves a lasting memoryVertical · November 2024, recalling a Bell 412 medical flight in spring 1991. This is the pilot’s retrospective account, with no exact location given.
A nighttime medical call brought McClendon and two nurses towards a road accident in rain showers. Information about obstacles at the proposed landing site was uncertain, and the urgency surrounding the patient added pressure. When the helicopter’s lights revealed power lines, he abandoned the approach and reconsidered how to reach the scene. After landing, McClendon spoke with the firefighter who had been helping on the ground.
Woody McClendon
Vertical · Read the source ↗Read the original documentation from the people who created it. Manuals open on their publisher’s website.
Aircraft background
Bell 412Wikipedia contributors · Research background · retrieved 2026-09-12Product
Bell 412X-Trident · Official developer / designated store catalogue · checked 2026-09-12Type designator
ICAO Doc 8643 — aircraft type designatorsInternational Civil Aviation Organization · Public search data retrieved 2026-09-14; authority update 2026-09-03Built-in force-feedback profiles
Read the documentary basis, editable starting settings and remaining questions for the aircraft you fly. Each explanation refers to the exact profile revision shown.
Catalogue programme-20261022-v1 · 2 profile choices
X-Trident Bell 412
X-Trident · Free and Pro · Revision 2 · Inherited starting point
X-Plane 12
X-Trident Bell 412: The configured cyclic centre and damping provide nominal resistance for the selected four-bladed helicopter, separate from its guidance modes.
Bell 412
Free and Pro · Revision 1 · Partial review
X-Plane 12 · X-Plane 11
Bell 412: The configured cyclic centre and damping provide nominal resistance for the selected four-bladed helicopter, separate from its guidance modes.
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