Bell 47G-5 'jump start' on A944

[tistisnot]

Anyone recollect being stranded on the A944 - G-AWRZ late '60's early '70's?!

Supposedly crop-sprayer from Humberside.

1497

[Democritus]

I think the Humberside crop sprayer theory is a bit of a red herring as Hammonds, the Humberside operator, didn't purchase that helicopter until the mid 1980's. I'd take a bet on it being the period when John Crewdson's Helicopter Hire operated the machine in 1971/72.

As a side note, back in '69 when my Bell 47J2 battery went flat on me at a site near Milford Haven I used a couple of car batteries wired in series to get the engine started. Looking at the photo I was a little more cautious as I took the batteries out of the cars rather than start up with a car under the rotors!

[Good Vibs]

The advantage of the Bell47G5 was that it was 12 volt.
Also the instrument panel was shorter which gave the pilot better visibility forward.
All the other Bell 47's were 24 volt.
When spraying (away from home) you could always use a regular car battery for starting if necessary.
Lots of hours and lots of good memories on all of the 47's.

[Ascend Charlie]

After 3 days stuck in a blizzard the battery of my 206 was stone cold and voltless, so I got a kickstart from a passing Sno-Cat! I already had the correct cables and plugs just in case...

[tistisnot]

Thanks for the replies - flew G5 at Trent but not till 1987!