Yay! Finally one that I have actually had a ride on. 47 years ago, actually. Thing I remember most is how before takeoff, the grass was clearly visible though the plexiglass just below my feet. only about a 12 inches away. The feeling at take off seemed more like the ground dropping away rather than us ascending. Blew my mind. Thanks for the memory Kermit!
I got my Commercial Helicopter License 40 years ago in a 47G5A and have loved the 47’s ever since. They have the most unrestricted view of any helicopter and just plane fun. Yes they are underpowered compared to today’s turbines ,but I love them. Thanks for the video.
That brought back a boyhood thrill from the 50's when I saw my first heli flying overhead, must have been a Bell 47. Us kids rode our baloon tired bikes out to Milwaukee's Mitchell Field to watch WIS ANG pilots practicing with their P-51's and later their F-80's.
Hi, Kermit, Thanks for another memory refresher. My first aviation experience was at about ten years old, when my parents sent me for a ride on a Bell 47G at the Michigan State Fair. I had previously found an Army Training manual from WWII, called Practical Air Navigation, and have never been able to get rid of the flying bug. God Bless and stay safe.
I have around 150 hrs. in -47s, the one with the wooden main rotor blades flew the 'softest'. I think it had a Franklin ? Long time ago, in a place far away...
My Dad's dream was to own one of these Bell H-47s , he never did , and I hope to build a model of one in his honor . Once again you have demonstrated your amazing breadth of aviation knowledge and flying skills , and the excellent quality and attention to detail in your aircraft restorations. Thanks for taking us along for the ride , and wish you many happy landings in the future ! 😎👍
Yeah, but youcan use new aluminum alloys or Titanium, Carbon fiber that'd put the original Bell 47 to shame,not to mention a lighter more powerful engine. Go for it. There's new Magnesium alloys too.
Nice. I saw my first Bell 47 in the 1960‘s as a boy on vacation in Austria. My father was glider flying there, Austrian AF used the airfield as well. They had a mix of Bell 47‘s and Alouette 2‘s at that time. IIRC the Bells were license built in Italy by Agusta, but I am not sure about it. Anyway great content, as always.
As a young man, I enjoyed the show “whirlybirds,” like so many people of my generation, and in the early 60s the Atlantic (gasoline) “go patrol” (traffic reporting helicopters) had several later production model 47s, and they gave rides at the local airport prior to an airshow where they performed some maneuvers involving two helicopters. What a wonderful moment it was for a 11 year old boy to get a ride on the helicopter of his dreams. When Robert Altman came out with the movie M*A*S*H, it was nice to see those helicopters again as an adult.
As a kid growing up in the early 60’s it seemed like every tv show that had a flying segment brought in a Bell 47. I drew hundreds of these as a kid and wasted a ton of note paper doing so. Still my all time favorite.
I am a member of the Gulf coast Corvette Club in Bradenton Florida as a group we have made quite a few trips to Fantasy of Flight it is a great museum very educational I ready to plan another trip up there. Thanks for the great video's.
Have passed this place so much on that I4 when we go over to Florida. I’ve always wanted to call in. Braver than me over that Water lol, knowing what can be in there. Great video. 👍👍👍🇬🇧🇺🇸
Thanks Kermit for another great video. My last duty station was Fort Lewis 1972. I had spent my tour till then in Huey's. I reported to my new CO, and was oddly assigned to the OH13 maintenance facility. Spent the next seven months flying them after service. By that time, those old Franklin's were getting cantankerous, and autorotations were pretty common. I can't say i didn't enjoy the bird, but i did live for those supply or ferry flights in the OH6 when crew were short. The 13 was a pretty solid ship all in all. But it was older than I was at that point.
Back in the mid 80’s there was one of these helicopters at Lake Of The Ozarks Missouri that had floats on it. My mom and dad sent me on a ride in it when I was 5-7 years old and from them on I was hooked. I never have been in a spot to own any aircraft of my own but that didn’t stop me from getting my license and flying a family members 140 while he had it. Lately I’ve been wanting to get a ultralight just to get back in the air
Love that aircraft! Rode on a litter strapped on the side as a private in the Army many years ago- a training exercise for medics. If I remember correctly, the engine was a Franklin, also used in most Stinson aircraft and the ill-fated Tucker automobiles...
HEY,.. KERMIT WOW, That such an awesome Helicopter I didn't know that you had so many Helicopter only thought that you had the one that was still in pieces didn't know you had others then that How many different types do you Have ?
I think I was 12 maybe 13 first flight in a helicopter something like that. The pilot was a Vietnam Vet and did some crazy stuff. Had the time of my life.
Hi Kermit, I have been doing a marathon watching your videos which I left behind unwatched because I have been busy with life stuff! Congratulations for your channel! It is a wonderful source of "fly" information! On this video I am impressed on how much vibration helicopter flight has! I am much more on the fixed wing aircraft by the way! Another thing I love DC-3 mainly the Civil and Airlines versions ( not military, definitly nos Baslers)! I hope you one day can buy and recover one more of these preciosities! Life is Good!!
Rotor wing too!?! Is there anything you can't fly? Love the H-13/Bell 47. Thinking back, my first time in anything flying was a Bell 47. We were living in Lakeland when I was about 6 and they were giving rides at either Cypress Gardens or Busch. Can't remember but he let me hold the stick. As a six year old I was convinced I was flying it. 😂
Different camera angles were awesome & Kermit seemed to be practicing his med-evac flying technique 😁. Know rather state-of-art during the Korean War but getting a ride strapped one of the skids of that bird can't be the nicest ways to fly 🤕🤢. Thanks to all at FOF (especially Kermit) for making such a ride-a-long possible! PS - Wonder how close Kermit is to Winkie Brown's record for types of aircraft flown 🤔?
August 2012 flight & you only posted it now? Interesting take on a rotor brake. Not sure I'd want to grab a blade or stabilizer bar while winding down. Anyhow, nice chopper. Couldn't help but notice a pretty good hump (1 to1 vibration) during the cockpit sequences. Might want to pull the rotor head & have the blades balanced.... ;)
@@KermitWeeks444 Ha, I get it, just curious when I saw the date. Video quality & various different views are excellent. Looking forward to more content.
Ever been in an Iroquois UH-1H helicopter? I have. They have a really good 'hump'. The blades can be perfectly balanced, but when they are facing directly in front and behind, there is slightly less lift and so there is a slight drop and lift effect as they fly. That's not so bad with a multi-rotor blade system. But you better get used to it if you fly in a twin blade helicopter. I used to wonder when I was listening to the comms why the pilot of Iroquois 1 1, had a 'shaky' voice. Then I flew in it! Oooooh, that's why.
@@irritantno9 Sorry to read that too! Wish I could offer some good advise. In tough times, we only have our best friends, but you have to pick up the phone. I can only wish you the best from New Zealand.
I live in Columbia South Carolina and I wonder if there is anyone that owns a Bell 47 that would take me up. I had to change to fly in one back in the 70's and would pay the price to do it again. I love those machines. No other helicopter can take the place of this bird.
Is there anything this man can't fly? I have an old whirlpool washing machine but I wouldn't bet money he wouldn't get it off the ground. Waiting for when he gets an old SR71 or concord jet for his collection.
The OH-13H was more of a Vietnam bird than a Korean War one. The OH-13D was the korean war one. This one would look better with some 9th Cav crossed sabers painted across the bubble...
Flew these in the Army, along with the Hiller OH-23 and other helicopters. This one was smooth and easy to fly, unlike some other choppers. I think we had this model and the OH-13 S at Ft Hood in 68. The S model was turbocharged. IIRC; The battery could be moved to the tail boom for weight and balance requirements.
Kermit has certainly not lived this long by having a "I can just jump into any aircraft and fly it without proper training" attitude. No fixed wing pilot would even consider flying a helicopter without having a rotorcraft rating. To be perfectly honest with you.... Most of us are scared of helicopters! 😱
@@straybullitt That wasn't my point. The "No old, bold pilots" applies, even to Kermit. Been to Fantasy plenty of times but never saw a helicopter there (That I can recall). This is the first video I have seen of his that involves one. I wonder if there are any ratings or endorsements that he doesn't have? Glider? Turbine? Airship?
@RussCrush My comment was aimed towards the first reply. In the next video, Kermit is probably going to pull out an old flying saucer 🛸 that they've been secretly restoring and fly it around! 😅🤣😂 Kermit has probably earned most of the heavier than air ratings over the years, which would be my guess. If we ever see him floating around majestically in the basket of a hot air balloon, then it will be almost certain that he has all of ratings and endorsements... 🤠
In 1972 while in the Coast Guard stationed in Baltimore we needed a big truck for the base use. We drove down to some military storage area, I believe it was in north carolina. while being taken to the area where the trucks were I remember driving down rows upon rows of Military Bell 47s with the blades off laying next to them. Just sitting in the sun wasting away. It hurts to think what probably came of them.
Thanks for another great video. It was interesting and enjoyable. A little flight in the baby helicopter. Looks like it was running and flying great. You did a wonderful job with it Kermit. Think this is the first time I have seen you flying a helicopter. I thought you did great with it. These small helicopters are so interesting. Was great to see it fly and the take off and landing process. Thanks Kermit for taking us doing. Was most enjoyable. Thanks for everything. Retired Air Force veteran.
I think you are right, as I was also trying to re-call Kermit flying a helicopter and could not remember any video's. I know he did a great interview with the son of Igor Sikorsky. That was a very interesting history lesson on the invention of the helicopter. The smallest helicopter I flew in, was the 'Wasp' (Westland Wasp), when I was in the Royal New Zealand Navy serving on HMNZS Monowai. We got taken ashore to move a transponder beacon which was in cloud cover. Whilst we waited to return they has a flame out of the engine whilst idling on the ground. They got it re-started then quickly signaled us aboard for the trip back to the ship. Whilst we flew over the sea, all the lights on the top of the instrument panel started flashing, with a few buzzers thrown in. I heard something about emergency landing. (Normal procedure you come alongside the ship and the Flight Deck Officer guides you in) We just came directly in line astern onto the Helo Deck. I was so grateful we didn't go swimming that day!
That brought back some memories. In the early 60's as a CAP cadet, I went out with an Army pilot from the Presido in San Francisco. We flew down the coast towards Monterey and back. That one had the bubble doors, but that was my first chopper ride to preceed many more in Vietnam. When we returned the pilot exhibited the Autogyro and brought the copter to a landing.
Love the video...Dang Kermit, is there anything that you can't fly? Do you even log hours when you fly anymore??? And for some reason I can't stop humming the theme to M.A.S.H. anymore!!!
We had one of those flown by the local PD in the 60's and 70's, the sound of them circling over the city on Saturday nights is burned into my head, we called them ghetto birds.
The only license I have requires all 4 wheels on the ground at all times. By the age of eight, my youngest boy could name about every aircraft that served during ww2, and for the most part, every US aircraft piloted since. Zachary is all grown up, and just like his father, he's not a pilot either. Living in central Florida with a boy who loves aircraft! Fantasy of Flight was his choice for a day with dad. Thank you, Kermit.
That’s excellent filming and a great video. I remember watching the video of you fly this machine and hovering to drop the names of your subscribers, in a competition, to choose the winner of a free flight in one of your aircraft. That was very cool.
Interesting to see the tail rotor drive shaft in the video, watch closely and appears to stop and go backwards. Great Video Mr. Kermit, keep them coming!🙃
@@one-o-four889 Wrong, the tail rotor pitch is what controls Left or right. the cameras FPS is what makes the #5 shaft appear to stop and go backwards.
Being a retired Army Vet, I've had the privilege of flying in the Bell OH-58 Kiowa, that was a fun ride, flying in a Cobra was exciting especially flying nose down tree top level, you get a beautiful view of the land from a Black-Hawk, even a ride in a CH-47 was a thrill. Word of advice never sit in the tail end of a Chinook unless you carry an air sickness bag we always stuck the newbies in the tail section - LOL.
"SIR !! I CAN FLY THE CRATE IT CAME IN" !! As a child, I loved the sound of that Franklin when they used to give rides over the fairgrounds at night near Charlotte, NC , every September.
They always say the Houghs/MD-500 has the best visibility... Bell-47: "hold my beer"! Amazing helo from a time long since past. Always loved them since I was kid.
I flew in one of these during a sight seeing tour over Niagara Falls many years ago (from the Canadian side). As a helicopter enthusiast, it was the thrill of a lifetime. My side had a door in place, but the pilot's side was open. I will always remember looking straight down between my feet to the ground as the craft tilted down to gain forward acceleration. Needless to say I really enjoyed the flight 🙂
