Model 209 Despite the Army's preference for the AAFSS program—for which Bell Helicopter was not selected to compete—the company persisted with their own idea of a smaller and lighter gunship, noting that Lockheed had little experience in developing rotorcraft and correctly predicted that it would encounter considerable difficulties. Bell employee Mike Folse played a key role in developing this new gunship, which he intentionally based around the existing UH-1 on the rationale that, while the Army could not purchase a completely original helicopter without a formal design competition, the service was able to procure a modification of an aircraft that was already in its inventory without invoking such hurdles. This initiative quickly caught the approval of Bell's senior management team.
Model 209 Despite the Army's preference for the AAFSS program—for which Bell Helicopter was not selected to compete—the company persisted with their own idea of a smaller and lighter gunship noting that Lockheed had little experience in developing rotorcraft and correctly predicted that it would encounter considerable difficulties Bell employee Mike Folse played a key role in developing this new gunship which he intentionally based around the existing UH-1 on the rationale that while the Army could not purchase a completely original helicopter without a formal design competition the service was able to procure a modification of an aircraft that was already in its inventory without invoking such hurdles This initiative quickly caught the approval of Bell's senior management team