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.[1][2] The first civilian delivery was made on 31 December 1946 to Helicopter Air Transport.[3] 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,[4] 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 175 to 305 HP (130 to 227 kW). Seating varied from two (early 47s and the later G-5A) to four (the J and KH-4).
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.[7] 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.[8]
Operational history
Bell 47J Ranger
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 47 rented by television stationKTLA in Los Angeles, California. It was outfitted with a television camera and it made the world's 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 helicopter's cockpit to climb onto its landing skid while it hovered at 1,500 feet (457 m) 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.[9]
13 May 1949, a Bell 47 set an altitude record of 18,550 feet (5,650 m).[11]
21 September 1950, first helicopter to fly over the Alps.[11]
17 September 1952, Bell pilot Elton J. Smith set a world distance record for piston helicopters of 1,217 miles (1,959 km) by flying nonstop from Hurst, Texas, to Buffalo, New York.[11] As of 2018, this record still stands.[12]
A three-seat utility version. A two-seat agricultural version was later known as the Ag-5. The 47G-5 remained in production even after H & J production had ended.[citation needed]
Bell 47H-1
A three-seat version with an enclosed cabin and fuselage.[15]
Agusta A.115 1971 Italian prototype of a Bell 47J with an unclad, tubular tail boom, and powered by a Turbomeca Astazou II turboshaft engine
Meridionali/Agusta EMA 124 Italian prototype with redesigned forward fuselage. Not produced.[16][17]
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.
JA7008 – Kawasaki-Bell 47D-1 (one of first two aircraft of All Nippon Airways) on static display at ANA Safety Education Center, nearby Haneda Airport. It was once displayed at Transportation Museum of Japan [ja] until its closure in 2006.[38]
G-AZYB (painted in former SABENA markings as OO-SHW) – Bell 47H on static display at the Helicopter Museum in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset. It supported a scientific expedition in Antarctica.[47][48]
N996B – Bell 47H-1 on static display at the Niagara Aerospace Museum in Niagara Falls, New York.[61]
N8010E – Bell 47H on static display at the American Helicopter Museum & Education Center in West Chester, Pennsylvania.[62][63]
Unknown ID – On static display at the American Helicopter Museum & Education Center in West Chester, Pennsylvania.[64] It is a Bell 47D-1 that has converted to an H-13 and painted in "M*A*S*H"configuration.[citation needed]
^"Bell 47B". Heli Archive. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
^Arthur M. Young. Arthur Young on the Helicopter (Part 2)(YouTube) (YouTube). Arthur M. Young. Event occurs at 10:15 to 11:45. Archived from the original on December 13, 2021. Retrieved April 8, 2016. I thought the bubble was a great idea, and we tried it. It consisted of taking a large sheet of Plexiglas, and a plywood form, cut for the final dimension for the outside of the bubble, then heating the Plexiglas, putting it under the plywood form, letting air pressure come up through the middle, and it would blow just like a soap bubble. And, then we had a gauge saying how far to blow, and when it reached that point, we turned off the air pressure.
^"FAA". Archived from the original on May 13, 2014. Retrieved September 22, 2010.
^"CAA". Archived from the original on May 13, 2014. Retrieved September 22, 2010.
^"Bell 47D". Alberta Aviation Museum. Alberta Aviation Museum. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
^"BELL 47G". The Hangar Flight Museum. The Hangar Flight Museum. Archived from the original on October 27, 2020. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
^Dan Gallacher and Chris Kitzan (November 2001). "The Bell 47D-1 Helicopter". historymuseum.ca. Archived from the original on February 25, 2021. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
^"Bell 47B". American Helicopter Museum & Education Center. American Helicopter Museum & Education Center. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
^"FAA REGISTRY [N5H]". Federal Aviation Administration. U.S. Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on March 3, 2017. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
^"FAA REGISTRY [N3H]". Federal Aviation Administration. U.S. Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on May 13, 2017. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
^"Aircraft on Display". Hiller Aviation Museum. Hiller Aviation Museum. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
^"FAA REGISTRY [N39KH]". Federal Aviation Administration. U.S. Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on March 20, 2017. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
^"FAA REGISTRY [N996B]". Federal Aviation Administration. U.S. Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on March 3, 2017. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
^"Bell 47H". American Helicopter Museum & Education Center. American Helicopter Museum & Education Center. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
^"FAA REGISTRY [N2490B]". Federal Aviation Administration. U.S. Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on March 5, 2017. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
^"FAA REGISTRY [N7576]". Federal Aviation Administration. U.S. Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on March 20, 2017. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
^Glover, Scott. "The Bell 47". Mid America Flight Museum. Archived from the original on 8 September 2016. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
^"FAA REGISTRY [N6356X]". Federal Aviation Administration. U.S. Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on March 3, 2017. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
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