The original development of the Model 214 was announced by Bell in 1970 under the name "Huey Plus". The first prototype was based on a
Bell 205 airframe equipped with a
Lycoming T53-L-702 engine of 1,900
shp. The first Bell 214A demonstration prototype followed and was evaluated in
Iran during field exercises with the
Imperial Iranian Armed Forces. The trial was judged successful and an order for 287 214A helicopters followed. The intention was that these aircraft would be constructed by Bell in their
Dallas-Fort Worth facility and that a further 50 214As and 350
Bell 214ST helicopters would then be built in Iran. In the event, 296 214A and 39 214C variants were delivered, before the
Iranian Revolution in 1979 ended the plans for Iranian production. Similar in size and appearance to the
Bell 205 and
Bell 212, the Bell 214 uses a single, more powerful
Lycoming LTC4B-8 engine (2,930 shp; 2,185 kW) and upgraded rotor system, giving it a high lifting capacity and good performance at high temperatures and high altitudes. It can be identified by the single large exhaust duct and
wide chord rotor blades without stabilizer bars. Bell offered the Bell 214B "BigLifter" for civil use. ==Operational history==