Thursday, March 20, 2008

Sarah and Charlie's Bell-47 Adventure

The Bell-47 helicopter was used for medical evacuation of injured soldiers during the Korean war. Click on the title link for more information.

(click on the image for a larger view)
Sarah and I stood in the parking lot and went back and forth about should we or should we not take a ride in model year 1947, Bell-47 helicopter s/n 16! Yes
that's right...serial number 16. I'd never flown in a Bell-47 but it was my favorite helicopter as a kid watching "Whirlybirds" on our black-and-white TV set after school each day at 4pm. I'm pretty sure this is the 2nd OLDEST aircraft I've ever flown in. (The oldest for me is a 1929 Travel-Air biplane). The pilot, who flew the LEFT seat, was nice enough to snap a photo of us after the ride. The pilot-in-command usually rides in the RIGHT seat on a helicopter...backwards from a fixed-wing aircraft. Our ride was short but cheap at $20 per passenger. We got a great view of the USS Alabama battleship anchored in Mobile Bay.

View of the USS Alabama from the Bell-47 helicopter


From the look on Sarah's face she had a good time!

-CDT 3/20/2008