The Bell Helicopter Model 206 JetRanger is a two-bladed main rotor, turbine powered helicopter with a conventional, two-bladed tail rotor. The aircraft uses hydraulic boosted flight controls.

In October 1961, the Army submitted a request for proposals (RFP) for the Light Observation Helicopter (LOH). Bell, along with 12 other manufacturers (including Fairchild-Hiller and Hughes Tool Co. Aircraft Division), entered the competition. Bell submitted their design for Model 206, which was selected out of the design phase of the Navy-run competition by the Army and designated as the YHO-4A.


Bell produced five prototype aircraft in 1962 to submit to the army for the test and evaluation phase. During the testing phase, the test pilots complained about the power problems of the aircraft, an issue that apparently knocked it out of the running, because when the winners were announced to progress on to the final selection phase, Bell's YOH-4A wasn't selected. Afterwards, Bell attempted to market the model 206, but it didn't fare well commercially. Bell's market research showed that it was the body design that customers found mostly unpalatable. Bell redesigned the fuselage of the airframe to be more sleek and aesthetic, and reintroduced it as Model 206A JetRanger which was a commercial success.

The 206A, and B are five-seat designs, with two seats in the front and a three seat bench in the back.