Tag Archives: First Flight

17 December 1903, 10:35 a.m.

Aviation, , , , , , , , ,
Orville Wright at the controls of the Flyer, just airborne on its first flight at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, 17 December 1903. Wilbur Wright is running along to stabilize the wing. This photograph was taken by John Thomas Daniels, Jr., using the Wright Brothers’ Gundlach Optical Company Korona-V camera. (Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division)

17 December 1903, 10:35 a.m.: Orville and Wilbur Wright, two brothers from Dayton, Ohio, had been working on the development of a machine capable of flight since 1899. They started with kites and gliders before moving on to powered aircraft. At the Kill Devil Hills near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, on the eastern shoreline of the United States, they made the first successful flight of a manned, powered, controllable airplane.

Orville was at the controls of the Flyer while Wilbur ran along side, steadying the right wing. Against a 27 miles per hour (12 meters per second) headwind, the airplane flew 120 feet (36.6 meters) in 12 seconds.

Three more flights were made that day, with the brothers alternating as pilot. Wilbur made the last flight, covering 852 feet (263.7 meters) in 59 seconds. The Flyer was slightly damaged on landing but before it could be repaired for an intended flight four miles back to Kitty Hawk, a gust of wind overturned the airplane and caused more extensive damage. It never flew again.

Flyer after fourth (final) flight. (Wright Brothers Aeroplane Company)

The 1903 Wright Flyer is a canard biplane, with elevators to the front and rudders at the rear. The flight controls twisted, or “warped,” the wings to cause a change in direction. The pilot lay prone in the middle of the lower wing, on a sliding “cradle.” He slid left and right to shift the center of gravity. Wires attached to the cradle acted to warp the wings and move the rudders. The airplane is built of spruce and ash and covered with unbleached muslin fabric.

Wright Flyer, front view. (Wright Brothers Aeroplane Company)
Wright Flyer, front view. (Wright Brothers Aeroplane Company)

The Flyer is 21 feet, 1 inch (6.426 meters) long with a wingspan of 40 feet, 4 inches (12.293 meters) and overall height of 9 feet, 3 inches (2.819 meters). The wings have an angle of incidence of 3° 25′. A built-in curvature of the wings creates a continuously-varying anhedral. (The wingtips are 10 inches (25.4 centimeters) lower than at the centerline.) The vertical gap between the upper and lower wings is 6 feet, 2 inches (1.880 meters). There is no sweep or stagger. The total wing area is 510 square feet (47.38 square meters). The Flyer weighs 605 pounds (274.4 kilograms), empty.

Wright Flyer, right quarter view. The airplane was damaged during the landing after its fourth flight. (Wright Brothers Aeroplane Company)

The Flyer was powered by a single water-cooled, normally-aspirated, 201.06-cubic-inch-displacement (3.30 liter) 4-cylinder inline overhead valve gasoline engine, which produced 12 horsepower at 1,025 r.p.m. The engine was built by the Wright’s mechanic, Charlie Taylor. The engine has a cast aluminum alloy crankcase with cast iron cylinders. Fuel is supplied from a gravity-feed tank mounted under the leading edge of the upper wing. Total fuel capacity is 22 fluid ounces (0.65 liters).

Wright Flyer, left profile. (Wright Brothers Aeroplane Company)
Wright Flyer, right profile. (Wright Brothers Aeroplane Company)

Using chains, sprockets, and drive shafts, the engine turns two fixed-pitch wooden propellers in opposite directions at 350 r.p.m. They turn outboard at the top of their arcs. The propellers have a diameter of 8 feet, 6 inches (2.591 meters) and are positioned at the trailing edges of the wings in a pusher configuration.

The Wright's airfield at Kittyhawk, North Carolina. Wilbure Wright is standing in the hangar. (Wright Brothers Aeroplane Company)
The Wright’s airfield near Kittyhawk, North Carolina. Wilbur Wright is standing in the hangar. (Wright Brothers Aeroplane Company)

In 1928, the Wright Flyer was shipped to England where it was displayed at the Science Museum on Exhibition Road, London. It returned to the United States in 1948 and was placed in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution.

The Wright Brothers’ first airplane flew a total of 1 minute, 42.5 seconds, and travelled 1,472 feet (448.7 meters).

The 1903 Wright Flyer at the Smithsonian Institution. (Photo by Eric Long, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution)
The 1903 Wright Flyer at the Smithsonian Institution. (Photo by Eric Long, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution)

Wilbur Wright died of typhoid fever in 1912. Orville continued to fly until 1918. He served as a member of the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (NACA, predecessor of NASA) for 28 years. He died in 1948.

The Boeing XB-15, 35-277, flies past the Wright Brothers Memorial at the Kill Devil Hills, near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. (U.S. Air Force)

© 2018, Bryan R. Swopes

15 December 2006

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AA-1. the first prototype Lockheed Martin F-22A Lightning II, takes off at Fort Worth, Texas, 12:44 p.m., CST, 15 December 2006. (Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co.)
AA-1, the first prototype Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II, takes off at Fort Worth, Texas, 12:44 p.m., CST, 15 December 2006. (Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co.)

15 December 2006: Lockheed Martin Chief Test Pilot Jon S. Beesely takes the first prototype F-35A Lightning II stealth strike fighter for its first test flight at Forth Worth, Texas. Taking off at 12:44 p.m., Central Standard Time (18:44 UTC), Beesley took the prototype, designated AA-1, to 15,000 feet (4,572 meters) at 225 knots (259 miles per hour/417 kilometers per hour) to test the aircraft in landing configuration prior to continuing with other tests.

Beesely said that the F-35A, “. . . handled well, better than the simulator.” He compared it to the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, and said that it handled like the Raptor, but better.

During the flight a minor problem occurred when two sensors disagreed. Although this was simply a calibration problem, test protocol required that Beesley bring the airplane back. He landed at Fort Worth at 1:19 p.m.

Jon S. Beesley in teh cockpit of Lockheed Martin's prototype F-35A Lightning II. (Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company)
Jon S. Beesley in the cockpit of Lockheed Martin’s prototype F-35A Lightning II. (Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company)

Jon Stephan Beesley was born 5 August 1950 at Rexburg, Idaho. After graduating from Madison High School in Rexburg, he studied at Ricks College, then a two-year school, where he was also captain of the school’s ski team.

Jon Beesley married Miss Evona Christensen, 29 May 1970. They would have six children.

In 1972, Beesley graduated from Utah State University at Logan, Utah, with a bachelor of science degree (B.S.) in physics. Following graduation, Beesley was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Air Force, and sent for flight training at Reese Air Force Base, Lubbock, Texas. He was awarded his pilot’s wings in 1974.

1st Lieutenant Beesley was assigned to the 32nd Tactical Fighter Squadron, 36th Tactical Fighter Wing, stationed at Soesterberg Air Base, The Netherlands. The squadron was equipped with the McDonnell Douglas F-4E Phantom II.

Two McDonnell Douglas F-4E Phantom IIs of the 32nd Tactical Fighter Squadron take off from Soesterberg Air Base, 1975. (U.S. Air Force)

Lieutenant Beesley was next sent to the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base in California, graduating in 1979. Beesley was then assigned as a project test pilot for the Lockheed YF-117A Nighthawk (his call sign, “Bandit 102”), and as the operations officer of the F-117A Combined Test Force based at Groom Lake, Nevada (Area 51). Major Beesley was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for saving YF-117A (FSD-2) 79-10781 when the left tail fin departed the aircraft while pulling up during a weapons test, 25 September 1985.

FSD-2, the second Lockheed YF-117A Full-Scale Development Aircraft, 79-10781, at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. (U.S. Air Force)

Major Beeseley retired from the Air Force in 1986. He then became a test pilot for General Dynamics, where he tested various configurations of the F-16, including Falcon Eye, and project test pilot prototype YF-22. Through a series of mergers, General Dynamics evolved into today’s Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company.

The two Lockheed-Boeing-General Dynamics YF-22 prototypes s at Edwards Air Force Base, California. (U.S. Air Force)

In 1996, the Society of Experimental Test Pilots honored Jon Beesley with its Iven C. Kincheloe Award for his work with the F-117 Combined Test Force (the award was retroactive to 1983). The Kincheloe Award “recognizes outstanding professional accomplishment in the conduct of flight-testing by a test pilot member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots.”

In 2000, The Engineers’ Council awarded Beesley its Brigadier General Charles E. “Chuck” Yeager International Aeronautical Achievements Award for his “lifetime career of dedication to the progress of aerospace technology.”

The Society of Experimental Test Pilots selected Jon Beesley for the Kincheloe Award a second time in 2007, for his work with the F-35A.

After testing the three configurations of the Joint Strike Fighter, the F-35A, F-35B and F-35C, Jon Beesley retired in 2011.

Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II AA-1 in flight. (U. S. Air Force)

The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is a “multirole” stealth fighter capable of air defense, ground attack and reconnaissance. There are three variants: The F-35A is designed for conventional takeoff and landing; the F-35B is a short takeoff/vertical landing variant; and the F-35C is for use aboard aircraft carriers.

The F-35A Lightning II is a single-place, single-engine supersonic stealth aircraft. It is 51.4 feet (15.7 meters) long with a wingspan of 35 feet (10.7 meters) and overall height of 14.4 feet (4.28 meters). It has an empty weight of 29,300 pounds (13,290 kilograms) and can carry 18,000 pounds of weapons. Maximum takeoff weight is 70,000 pounds (31,800 kilograms). (Specifications differ for other variants.)

The F-35 is powered by one Pratt & Whitney F135-PW-100 turbofan engine. This is an axial-flow engine with a 3-stage fan section, 6 stage compressor and 2 stage turbine section (1 high- and 1 low-pressure stage.) The engine is rated at 43,000 pounds of thrust (191.17 kilonewtons) with afterburner.It is 18 feet, 4 inches (5.500 meters) long, 3 feet, 7 inches (1.092 meters) in diameter, and weighs 3,750 pounds (1,701 kilograms).

Maximum speed of the F-35A with internal weapons is Mach 1.6+.

The F-35A is armed with a General Dynamics GAU-22/A 25mm four-barrel rotary cannon with 180 rounds of ammunition. The gun has a rate of fire of 3,300 rounds per minute. The standard weapons load consists of two AIM-120C AMRAAM air-to-air missiles and two 2,000 pound GBU-31 JDAM guided bombs carried in an internal bay.

The United States Air Force planned on buying 1,763 F-35As. The U.S. Navy will get 260 F-35Cs while the Marine Corps plans for 420 F-35Bs. Ten other counties have ordered various configurations of the lightning II. As of September 2018, about 320 F-35s had been built, but the production rate has been slowed to just 150 airplanes per year.

After completing its test program of 91 flights, in 2009 F-35A AA-1 was turned over to the U.S. Navy for use as a live fire target at NAWC China Lake, California.

Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II, AA-1, parkied in its hangar. (Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company)
Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II, AA-1, parked in its hangar. (Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company)

© 2018, Bryan R. Swopes

10 December 1938

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Squadron Leader James Addams, RAF, at left, and Kelly Johnson with the Lockheed B14L, N7205, Union Air Terminal, Burbank, California, December 1938. (Unattributed)

10 December 1938: At the Union Air Terminal, Burbank, California, Squadron Leader James Addams and Squadron Leader Randle, both Royal Air Force officers, took the prototype Lockheed B14L for its first flight.

The prototype Lockheed B-14L (Hudson Mk.I, N7205) photographed during its first flight, 10 December 1938. Note the mockup dorsal gun turret and painted-out British insignia. (W.J. “Billy” Gray)

The B14L (also identified as Model 214-40-01) was a twin engine light bomber developed by the Lockheed Aircraft Company from its Model 14 Super Electra civil transport. Both types were designed by the legendary Clarence L. (“Kelly”) Johnson. The prototype was purchased by Great Britain and designated Hudson Mk.I. It was assigned the R.A.F. identification N7205.

(Los Angeles Times, Vol. LVIII, Thursday Morning, 22 December 1938, Page 9, Columns 2–4)
Squadron Leader James Addams, RAF, and Clarence L. (“Kelly”) Johnson shake hands in front of the prototype Lockheed B14L (Hudson Mk.I N7205) at Union Air Terminal, Burbank, California, December 1938. (The Honolulu Advertiser, Vol. 83, No. 18,694, Saturday, 31 December 1938, Page 2, Columns 3–6_)
Lockheed Hudson Mk.I N7205 was partially disassembled and transported to England aboard a ship. (Royal Air Force)
Lockheed Hudson Mk.I N7205 at RAF Northolt, South Ruislip, near London, England,1939. (RAF Museum PC98/173/5840/14)

Gunnery tests of the prototype were carried out near Daggett, in the Mojave Desert of southern California, 100 statute miles (161 kilometers) northeast of Burbank.

The Lockheed Hudson was a twin-engine, mid-wing light bomber with conventional retractable landing gear. It was operated by a pilot, navigator/bombardier, radio operator/gunner, and a gunner in a dorsal power-operated turret. The Mk.I was 44 feet 3-7/8 inches (13.510 meters) long, with a wingspan of 65 feet, 6 inches (19.964 meters), and height of 11 feet, 10 inches (3.607 meters). It had an empty weight of 11,630 pounds (5,275 kilograms), and maximum gross weight of 17,500 pounds (7,938 kilograms).

Hudson Mark III, V8977: cabin interior with pilot’s position on the left. Photograph taken at Eastleigh, Hampshire. Photographed 24 July 1942. (Imperial War Museum, Royal Air Force Aircraft 1941–1959: ATP Collection (GSA 325). © IWM ATP 10925F )

The Hudson Mk.I was powered by two air-cooled, supercharged, 1,823.129-cubic-inch-displacement (29.875 liter) Wright Aeronautical Division Cyclone 9 GR-1820-G102A radial engines with a compression ratio of 6.3:1. They had a normal power rating of 900 horsepower at 2,200 r.p.m., at Sea Level, and 1,100 horsepower at 2,200 r.p.m. for takeoff.  The engines drove three-blade adjustable pitch propellers through a 0.6875 gear reduction. The GR-1820-G102A was 4 feet, 0.12 inch (1.222 meters) long, 4 feet, 7.10 inches (1.400 meters) in diameter, and weighed 1,275 pounds (578 kilograms).

The Hudson Mk.I had a cruise speed of 220 miles per hour (354 km/h), and maximum speed of 246 miles per hour (396 km/h) at 6,500 feet (1,981 meters). Its service ceiling was 25,000 feet (7,620 meters), and its range, 1,960 miles (3,153 kilometers).

The Hudson was armed with two fixed, forward-firing .303-caliber (7.7 × 56mmR) Browning Mk.II machine guns located above the bombardier’s compartment, two .303 Mk.II guns in a power-operated Boulton Paul Aircraft Ltd. dorsal turret and a fifth flexible mount .303 machine gun was located in a ventral position. Each of these guns were capable of firing at a rate of 1,150 rounds per minute.

The bomber could carry four 250 pound (113 kilogram) bombs, or ten 100 pound (45 kilogram) bombs in an internal bomb bay.

“Armourers secure 250-lb GP bombs in the bomb bay of a Lockheed Hudson of No. 224 Sqyadron RAF at RAF Leuchars, Fife, Scotland.” (Flight Lieutenant Stanley Devon, RAF/Imperial War Museums CH 979)

British purchasing Commission contracted for 250 Hudson Mk.I bombers, 23 June 1938. Deliveries began in February 1939, with the 250th Hudson Mk.I delivered in October 1939.

Lockheed built 2,941 Hudson bombers in a number of configurations. 351 of these were Hudson Mk.Is.

Lockheed Hudson Mk.I N7220 (B14L-1616) at Grand Central Air Terminal, Glendale, California, circa 1938. The Boulton Paul dorsal gun turrets would be installed after arrival in Great Britain. (AirHistory.net)
Hudson Mark I, N7326 ‘ZS-F’ (B14L-1622), of No. 233 Squadron RAF based at Aldergrove, County Antrim, preparing to take off from Leuchars, Fife.
IWM CH 2429
Lockheed Hudson twin-engine bombers being assembled. (Lockheed Martin)
Lockheed Hudson assembly line. (Lockheed Martin)
Lockheed AT-18A-LO Hudson 42-55569, s/n 414-7291.
Lockheed Hudson (SDASM)

© 2023, Bryan R. Swopes

8 December 1962

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Bell YOH-4 N73999 (U.S. Army serial number 62-4202. (U.S. Army)
Bell Model 206 N73999 (U.S. Army YOH-4-BF 62-4202) at the Bell Helicopter Company plant, Hurst, Texas. (Bell Helicopter Co.)
Bell YHO-4-BF. (U.S. Army)
Bell YHO-4. (Bell Helicopter Co.)

8 December 1962: At the Bell Helicopter Company plant at Hurst, Texas, the first Model D-250, N73999 (YHO-4-BF 62-4202) made its first flight.

The United States military had requested proposals from 25 aircraft manufacturers for a Light Observation Helicopter (LOH) to be powered by a gas turbine engine. Eventually, helicopters proposed by three companies were selected for flight testing. These were the Bell YHO-4, the Fairchild Hiller FH-1100, designated as YHO-5, and the Hughes Aircraft Company Model 369, designated YHO-6.

In 1962, U.S. military aircraft designations were standardized between services, and the three helicopters were redesignated YOH-4, YOH-5 and YOH-6. Bell Helicopter had also changed its internal company designation for their proposal from D-250 to Model 206. All three were powered by an Allison T63-A-5 turboshaft engine rated at 250 shaft horsepower (Allison 250-C18).

Bell 206 N73999 (YHO-4-BF-62-4202). (U.S. Army)
Bell 206 N73999 (YHO-4-BF 62-4202). Note the stabilizer bar. (U.S. Army)
A prototype Bell YOH-4 Light Observation Helicopter hovers in ground effect. The vertical fin has been changed from the original ventral configuration. (U.S. Army)

After the fly-off, the Hughes OH-6A Cayuse was selected for production. With the LOH classification, the OH-6 earned the nickname “Loach.”  Modern variants of the OH-6, now the AH-6 and MH-6 “Little Bird,” remain in service with United States special operations forces.

Bell Helicopter tried to market their Model 206 as a light civil aircraft, but its utilitarian appearance made it a hard sell. The helicopter was redesigned as the Model 206A and given the name JetRanger. This became one of the most successful aircraft ever built and it remained in production until 2011.

The first Bell 206A JetRanger, N8560F. (Bell Helicopter Co.)
The first Bell 206A JetRanger, N8560F. (Bell Helicopter Co.)

As the Vietnam War escalated, the need for helicopters increased. Hughes Aircraft had limited production capacity so the U.S. Army ordered a version of the redesigned Bell YOH-4 as the OH-58A Kiowa (Bell Model 206A-1). Though similar in appearance to the civil Bell 206A JetRanger, the OH-58A has significant differences and few parts are interchangeable between models. The Kiowa’s main rotor blades and tail boom are longer than the JetRanger’s. The rotor system turns at a slower r.p.m. Landing skids are mounted differently. The OH-58A has a lower maximum gross weight. There are internal differences as well, for example, the main transmission of the OH-58A has only three planetary gears while the 206B uses four, giving it a greater torque capacity.

The OH-58 Kiowa was continuously upgraded to the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior, with advanced targeting and communications capabilities. The D model uses a composite four-bladed “soft-in-plane” main rotor. Military variants of the civil Bell 206B-3 JetRanger III have been used as training helicopters for the U.S. Navy (TH-57 Sea Ranger) and U.S. Army (TH-67 Creek). The U.S. Army has now retired all of its OH-58s. The final flight of an OH-58D Kiowa Warrior took place in September 2017.

The first production Bell OH-58A-BF Kiowa, 68-16687. (U.S. Army)
The first production Bell OH-58A-BF Kiowa, 68-16687. (Bell Helicopter Co.)

The YOH-4A prototype is in storage at the U.S. Army Aviation Museum, Fort Rucker, Alabama. Because of an error is assigning serial numbers, this aircraft carries a manufacturer’s data plate with the military serial number 62-4201,¹ however, the correct serial number, 62-4202, is painted on the airframe exterior.

A flight of Bell OH-58D Kiowa Warriors scouting in a war zone. (U.S. Army)
A flight of Bell OH-58D Kiowa Warriors scouting in a war zone. (U.S. Army)

¹ Serial number 62-4201 had already been assigned to a Lockheed C-140B-LM JetStar.

© 2017, Bryan R. Swopes

8 December 1945

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Prototype of the Bell Model 47. (Niagara Aerospace Museum)

8 December 1945: At the Bell Aircraft Corporation Wheatfield Plant, Niagara Falls, New York, the first Model 47 helicopter, NX41962, was rolled out. Designed by Arthur M. Young, the Model 47 was based on Young’s earlier Model 30. The new helicopter made its first flight on the same day.

The Civil Aviation Administration (C.A.A.), predecessor of the Federal Aviation Administration, had never certified a helicopter, so Bell worked with government officials to develop civil certification standards. The Bell 47 received the C.A.A. Type Certificate H-1 on 8 March 1946 and the first helicopter’s registration was changed to NC1H.

Bell Model 47 NX41962, Serial Number 1, at Bell’s Wheatfield Plant, early 1946. (Niagara Aerospace Museum)

The Bell 47 series was constructed of a welded tubular steel airframe with a sheet metal cockpit and a characteristic plexiglas bubble. In the original configuration, it had a four-point wheeled landing gear, but this was soon replaced with a tubular skid arrangement. It was a two-place aircraft with dual flight controls.

The first Bell Model 47 had an overall length (with rotors turning) of 39 feet, 7½ inches (12.078 meters). The main rotor diameter was 33 feet, 7 inches (10.236 meters). The length of the fuselage, from the front of the plexiglass bubble canopy to the trailing edge of the tail rotor disc, was 29 feet, 3½ inches (8.928 meters). The tail rotor had a diameter of 5 feet, 5 inches (1.676 meters). The helicopter’s height, to the top of the main rotor mast, was 9 feet, 2-7/16 inches (2.805 meters).

NC1H had an empty weight of 1,393 pounds (632 kilograms). Its gross weight was 2,100 pounds (953 kilograms).

Bell Aircraft Corp. test pilot Floyd W. Carlson demonstrates the stability of the Model 47 by taking his hands off of the flight controls during a hover. (Bell Helicopter)

The Bell 47’s main rotor is a two-bladed, under-slung, semi-rigid assembly that would be a characteristic of helicopters built by Bell for decades. The blades were constructed of laminated wood, and covered with fabric. A stabilizer bar was placed below the hub and linked to the flight controls through hydraulic dampers. This made for a very stable aircraft. The main rotor turns counter-clockwise, as seen from above. (The advancing blade is on the right.) The tail rotor is positioned on the right side of the tail boom in a tractor configuration. It rotates counter-clockwise as seen from the helicopter’s left. (The advancing blade is above the axis of rotation.)

Floyd Carlson, chief Test Pilot for the Bell Aircraft Corporation, hovers the world’s first civil-certified helicopter, NC1H, Serial Number One. (Niagara Aerospace Museum)

Power was supplied by an air-cooled, normally-aspirated, 333.991-cubic-inch-displacement (5.473 liter) Franklin Engine Company 6V4-178-B3 vertically-opposed six cylinder engine, serial number 17008, rated at 178 horsepower at 3,000 r.p.m. Power was sent through a centrifugal clutch to a transmission which turned the main rotor through a two-stage planetary gear reduction system with a ratio of 9:1. The transmission also drove the tail rotor drive shaft, and through a vee-belt/pulley system, a large fan to provide cooling air for the engine.

The new helicopter had a cruise speed of 75 miles per hour (121 kilometers per hour) and a maximum speed (VNE) of 80 miles per hour (129 kilometers per hour). NC1H had a service ceiling of 11,400 feet (3,475 meters).

The Bell 47 gained fame during the Korean War as a rescue helicopter, transferring wounded soldiers directly to Mobile Army Surgical Hospitals placed near the front lines. Here, a wounded soldier is offloaded from an H-13D-1 Sioux. (U.S. Army)
The Bell 47 gained fame during the Korean War as a rescue helicopter, transferring wounded soldiers directly to Mobile Army Surgical Hospitals placed near the front lines. Here, a wounded soldier is offloaded from an H-13D-1 Sioux. (U.S. Army)
The manufacturer's data plate for Bell Model 47, Serial Number 1. (Niagara Museum of Aeronautics)
The manufacturer’s data plate for Bell Model 47, Serial Number 1. (Niagara Museum of Aeronautics)

The Bell 47 was produced at the plant in New York, and later at Fort Worth, Texas. It was steadily improved and remained in production until 1974. In military service the Model 47 was designated H-13 Sioux, (Army and Air Force), HTL (Navy) and HUG (Coast Guard). The helicopter was also built under license by Agusta, Kawasaki and Westland. More than 7,000 were built worldwide and it is believed that about 10% of those remain in service.

In 2010, the type certificates for all Bell 47 models was transferred to Scott’s Helicopter Service, Le Sueur, Minnesota, which continues to manufacture parts and complete helicopters.

After certification testing and demonstrations, NC1H was one of two Bell 47s used for flight training. The first Bell 47, s/n 1, crashed at Niagara Falls Airport, 3 April 1946.

While hovering out of ground effect, a student inadvertently oversped the main rotor by decreasing collective pitch when he had intended to increase it. The main rotor hub separated and the helicopter dropped to the ground. Both the student and instructor were injured. Damage to NC1H was extensive and the helicopter was scrapped. The registration, NC1H, was reassigned to Bell 47 s/n 11.

Wreck of Bell Model 47 NC1H, s/n 1. (Niagara Aerospace Museum)

© 2018, Bryan R. Swopes