kenny mac
 

The Bell 47 spotted was mine. Sold to a guy from Wales who is going to learn to fly in it !
Replaced it with LHCI which is a G 5, so you should see it about.

Great machines and still able to get parts without too much trouble.:ok:

Bolkow, some years before the outfit you recall but these chaps also ran pleasure flights over Miami, albeit during the 60's, with this and perhaps one other Bell 47.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-r...2525201969.jpg
A Miami Helicopter Service Bell 47 conducting pleasure flights c. 1969

More Miami Bells ..
 

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5...line%2520a.jpg
Bell 47 belonging to Sun Line Helicopters of MacArthur Causeway, Miami c. 1950's

thats definiety the same place I was talking about, what I particularly remember was the bell 47 and flying in it with wooden mainblades!

Bolkow,

I made my solo in a Bell 47 D1 which had wooden blades, a cross tank and a Metal weight attached to the front of the right skid for balance during single pilot ops....:)

Scary? Nah.... I loved every minute :ok:

I did my crop spray training with Ag Rotors near Gettysburg Pennsylvania ( Are they still going ?) witha great old guy called Hank Whitfield . Flying was on a range of 47,s some of which were wooden blades . I think the ride was softer on the wood ...except for the time when 3 ft of trailing edge came off a blade on the Hiller . The vibration was so bad you could not read any instruments ....Hank took over for that bit !!!
ps He had well over 20k hrs on recips back then so i would love to know what he ended up at !!

Martinique seems to be the place for Bell 47 spraying!

PPRuNed from page 73 of the Nostalgia Thread:

And now .. this video (probably shown before somewhere) also from Martinique:



Ooh la la, les Français!

Ag rotors
 

NigelH- Ag Rotors closed some years back. There is a still a company using the Bell 47 for spraying in the area still. We use our D1 for training. The blades are wood and they are on repaired "On condition". I have a spare set for when I send them out.
I love flying our one!

Anyone know what happened to Hank Whitfield ...the old chief pilot ??

A little piece of good news for 47 lovers:

Damn and darnation, where the hell is that lotto ticket :{

Solo in it was 30 years plus ago :ok:

Hi,

Does anybody know the part number to order and where I can get the Bendix starter for a Bell47G5A (with Lyc VO-435-B1A).

ie the inertial coupling that engages in the engine ring gear to start the motor.


OOW

starteer
 

435 ipc lists starter as p/n LW-12023. you need to speak to someone who works with 47s regularly.. if your interested in getting it sorted pm me!

Mechanics says the engine ring gear is damaged and is responsible for tearing up the bendix. Seems like a chicken and egg situation.
Does anyone have a ring gear for a Lyc-435-B1A for sale ?

"Whirlybirds"
 

hope you all remember the tv show, "Whirlybirds"...circa 1960 Bell 47G and Bell 47J shown off to the very best advantage.

The whole show came about from the "I LOVE LUCY" episode in which she missed her ship sailing for europe. She hired a Bell 47 to fly her to the ship. The producers loved it and thought about how they could make the Bell 47 the star of a tv show...and voila: WHIRLYBIRDS was born

one of my favorite shows...starred Kenneth Tobey (he the star of such sci fi shows as THE THING and IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA)

hard to find now, but sometimes on bootleg DVD's available!

Bell 47J in action
 

Never missed an epidode of "Whirlybirds". One of my favourites:ok:

Air & Space Magazine: Ode to the Bubble

I/C

Starter motor problem
 

I wonder if you have any experience with starting problems. I need help!

I have a Bell47G5A with Lyc-435-B1A with 24volt system and 'show of sparks' and I am having a lot of problems with the starting.
I've had this problem over 6 months! and I've only flown around 20 hours mostly due to these annoying problems.

Over the last 6 months I have gone through two starter motors and 3 starter drives aka 'bendix'. After fitting these starter drives - they work fine for a few starts (able to stay engaged until the motor starts) after which they eventually end up only ever turning the engine over one compression before the starter drive disengages.

With this problem I now have to try starting 6 to 10 times on average before getting the engine to fire. Even with the mags to OFF the starter only turns the engine one compression before the starter drive disengages.

A couple of licenced mechanics have checked the timing, replaced the starter motor, tried new starter drives and even replaced the ring gear but can't solve the problem.

Any ideas or recommendations on who to speak to?
If there were a modern alternative starter retrofittable to this helicopter I would buy it tomorrow!

OOW

Shower of sparks I think.
Are the starting vibrators working properly? You can time the engine but if the vibrators do not work the ignition wil be advanced and give starting problems.

I watched a pilot attempt a start on a 300 which resulted in the starter arriving in kit form on the concrete. He said oh it does that about once a week!!!!!

On further questioning it became apparent that he was unaware of the vibrators existence, A check revealed neither was working, a quick fix and hey presto no more wrecked starters.

Put Shower of Sparks in to Google. There is a lot of information including the manual online

If I remember correctly, the shower of sparks is working when youl hear a buzz/screeching noise under the cab floor while the starter is turning.