Bell 47
The Bell 47 is a single rotor single engine light helicopter manufactured by Bell Helicopter. It was based on the third Bell 30 prototype, which was the company's first helicopter designed by Arthur M. Young. The 47 became the first helicopter certified for civilian use on 8 March 1946. The first civilian delivery was made on December 31, 1946 to Helicopter Air Transport. More than 5,600 Bell 47s were produced, including those under license by Agusta in Italy, Kawasaki Heavy Industries in Japan, and Westland Aircraft in the United Kingdom. The Bell 47J Ranger is a modified version with a fully enclosed cabin and tail boom.
Design and development
Early models varied in appearance, with open cockpits or sheet metal cabins, fabric covered or open structures, some with four-wheel landing gear.Later model D and Korean War H-13D and E types settled on a more utilitarian style. The most common model, the 47G introduced in 1953, can be recognized by the full "soap bubble" canopy, exposed welded-tube tail boom, saddle fuel tanks and skid landing gear.
The later three-seat 47H had an enclosed cabin with full cowling and monocoque tail boom. It was an attempt to market a "luxury" version of the basic 47G. Relatively few were produced.
Engines were Franklin or Lycoming vertically mounted piston engines of 178 to 305 HP. Seating varied from two to four.
In April 2011 there were 1068 registered with the Federal Aviation Administration in the United States and 15 in the United Kingdom.
Bell 47s were produced in Japan by a Bell and Kawasaki venture; this led to the Kawasaki KH-4 variant, a four-seat version of the Model 47 with a cabin similar to the Bell 47J. It differed from the "J" in having a standard uncovered tail boom and fuel tanks like the G series. It was sold throughout Asia, and some were used in Australia.
In February 2010, the Bell 47 type certificates were transferred to Scott's Helicopter Services. The sister company that was formed, Scott's - Bell 47, is in the process of starting production of a turboshaft powered version of the Bell 47, the 47GT-6, using a Rolls-Royce RR300 engine and with composite rotor blades, with deliveries planned from 2016.
Operational history
The Bell 47 entered US military service in late 1946, and operated in a variety of versions and under different designations for three decades. It was designated H-13 Sioux by the US Army, and during the Korean War, it served a variety of roles, including reconnaissance and scouting, search and rescue, and medevac.The "Telecopter" was a Bell Model 47 rented by television station KTLA in Los Angeles, California. It was outfitted with a television camera and it made the worlds first flight by a television news helicopter on July 3, 1958, with its inventor, John D. Silva, aboard. When the television station reported it was receiving no video, Silva exited the helicopters cockpit to climb onto its landing skid while it hovered at 1,500 feet so he could investigate the microwave transmitter bolted to its side, where he discovered a vacuum tube had failed due to vibration and hot weather. After Silva fixed the problem overnight, the Telecopter made the world's first successful television news flight on July 4, 1958.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration had a number of Bell 47s during the Apollo program, used by astronauts as trainers for the lunar lander. Apollo 17 commander Eugene Cernan had a nearly disastrous crash into the Indian River in Florida in 1972, shortly before his flight to the moon. The 47 has also served as the helicopter of choice for basic helicopter flight instruction in many countries.
Records
- 13 May 1949, a Bell 47 set an altitude record of.
- 21 September 1950, first helicopter to fly over the Alps.
- 17 September 1952, Bell pilot Elton J. Smith set a world distance record for piston helicopters of by flying nonstop from Hurst, Texas, to Buffalo, New York. As of 2018, this record still stands.
Variants
Civilian
;47: Pre-production version, powered by a Franklin piston engine.;47A: Improved version of the Bell 47, powered by a Franklin O-335-1 piston engine.
, 2011
;47B: Equivalent to the military YR-13/HTL-1, powered by the Franklin O-335-1.
;47C
;47D: First to appear with a molded "soap bubble" canopy.
;47E: Powered by a Franklin 6V4-200-C32 engine.
;47F
;47G: Combines a Franklin engine with the three-seat configuration of the 47D-1 and introduced the twin saddle-bag fuel tank configuration.
;Bell 47H-1: A three-seat version with an enclosed cabin and fuselage.
;47J Ranger: A four-seat version powered by a VO-435 engine.
;47K:Military two-seat training variant of the 47J.
Military
Licensed versions
Agusta A.115 1971 Italian prototype of a Bell 47J with an unclad, tubular tail boom, and powered by a Turbomeca Astazou II turboshaft engineMeridionali/Agusta EMA 124 Italian prototype with redesigned forward fuselage. Not produced.
Kawasaki KH-4 Japanese production version with redesigned, lengthened cabin, and redesigned control system
Conversions
Carson Super C-4El Tomcat Mk.II Bell 47G-2 modified extensively for agricultural spraying by Continental Copters Inc. First flew in April 1959. Followed by further improved versions.
Operators
Military operators
Government operators
- Ontario Lands and Forests
- Canadian Coast Guard 47J-2
- Carabinieri
- Guardia di Finanza
- Vigili del Fuoco
- Los Angeles City Fire Department
- Los Angeles Police Department
- New York City Police Department
Aircraft on display
- 654 – Bell 47D-1 on static display at the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.
- Unknown ID – Bell 47G on static display at the Alberta Aviation Museum in Edmonton, Alberta. It was assembled from parts and represents a Bell 47D.
- Unknown ID – Bell 47G on static display at The Hangar Flight Museum in Calgary, Alberta. It was built by college students from parts and has never flown.
- 655 – Bell 47D-1 on static display at the Museo Nacional Aeronautico y del Espacio in Santiago.
- 714 – Bell 47G on static display at the Musée de l’air et de l’espace in Le Bourget, Île-de-France.
- AS+058 – AB-47G-2 on static display at the Deutsches Museum in Munich, Bavaria.
- JA7008 - Bell 47D-1 on static display at ANA Safety Education Center, nearby Haneda Airport. It was once displayed at until its closure in 2006.
- AS7201 – Bell 47G-2 on static display at the Malta Aviation Museum in Ta'Qali. It was the first aircraft of the Armed Forces of Malta and was donated to the museum on 31 May 2008.
- Unknown ID – Bell 47D-1 on static display at the Norwegian Aviation Museum in Bodø, Nordland.
- HE.7B-31 – AB-47G-3B1 on static display at the Museo Aeronáutico de Málaga in Málaga, Andalusia.
- Unknown ID – Bell 47G on static display at the in Stockholm. It had previously been featured on the cover for ABBA's 1976 album Arrival.
- 689 – Bell 47G on static display at the Swiss Museum of Transport in Lucerne.
- G-ARXH - Bell 47G at the Armourgeddon Military Collection, Husbands Bosworth, Leicestershire.
- G-AXKS - Bell 47G-4A at the Museum of Army Flying, Middle Wallop, Hampshire.
- G-AZYB – Bell 47H on static display at the Helicopter Museum in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset. It supported a scientific expedition in Antarctica.
- 3 – Bell 47B on static display at the American Helicopter Museum & Education Center in West Chester, Pennsylvania.
- 5 – Bell 47 on static display at the Niagara Aerospace Museum in Niagara Falls, New York.
- 36 – Bell 47B on static display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the National Air and Space Museum in Chantilly, Virginia.
- 39 – Bell 47D on static display at the Hiller Aviation Museum in San Carlos, California.
- 66 – Bell 47B-3 on static display at the Classic Rotors Museum in Ramona, California.
- 67 – Bell 47B-3 on static display at the Niagara Aerospace Museum in Niagara Falls, New York.
- 82 – Bell 47D1 on static display at the Tellus Science Museum in Cartersville, Georgia.
- 1349 – Bell 47H-1 on static display at the Niagara Aerospace Museum in Niagara Falls, New York.
- 1355 – Bell 47H on static display at the American Helicopter Museum & Education Center in West Chester, Pennsylvania.
- Unknown ID – On static display at the American Helicopter Museum & Education Center in West Chester, Pennsylvania. It is a Bell 47D-1 that has converted to an H-13 and painted in "M*A*S*H"configuration.
- Unknown ID – Bell 47D-1 on static display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, New York.
- Unknown ID – Bell 47 on static display at the Lawrence D. Bell Aircraft Museum in Mentone, Indiana.
Surviving aircraft
- OE-XDM – Bell 47 G-3B-1T airworthy with The Flying Bulls in Salzburg.
- 1516 – Bell 47G-2 airworthy at the EAA AirVenture Museum in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
- 2666 – Bell 47G-2A airworthy at the Classic Rotors Museum in Ramona, California.
- CCI-563 – Bell 47G airworthy at the Mid America Flight Museum in Mount Pleasant, Texas.
Specifications (Bell 47G-3B)