Thanks for this. I'm sneaking over to my neighbor's helipad tonight after dark and having some fun.

You have the same voice inflection of my good QB friend, John Refshnyder - he's always sounding like he's smiling and life is happy... I met him back in Eurek, CA, - he was a Vietnam Vet (Capt. Rotor-Wing type) and fixed-wing qualified as well, flying for the L.P. lumber flight dept... Always liked his helicopter stories!!!! You bring me back to good memories with the training film.... THANKS! Gordon, on the Eastern shore of Maryland... (love for you to be my flight instructor....)

It's too bad there isn't a checklist for operating the focus on the camera.

I soloed almost 70 years ago and have about 7000 hours with Commercial S&MEL plus glider and about one hour in a Bell 47 back when I was in Korea in 1951. Just never had the opportunity or need to go after a rotary wing rating. Enjoyed your video.

Fascinating. I have loved helicopters in general, and the Bell 47 specifically, since watching the Whirlybirds TV show as kid. Thanks for this pilot's-eye view.

Even after nearly seventy years the 47 is still a beautiful and very desirable bird. It's a real testament to what humans are capable of doing. Great design.

My Father and I split the cost of Grumman AA-1, which is a single fixed wing aircraft. I then started taking lessons from an WWII Bomber pilot. I spent the nest 2 years getting all my ratings then started to work instructing. Six years ago I started flying helicopters and now have all my helicopter ratings.

Hi there! I am a full time helicopter pilot and instructor as well. The tachometer has two needles, one long, one short and when at operating RPM, they are joined together and what they indicate when the smaller needle (rotor RPM) is superimposed upon the longer needle (engine RPM) is that the engine and clutch are fully engaged prior to and during all flight operations. It allows for separation of the clutch from the engine in the event of an engine failure and allows for an autoration landing.

I got some 47 time. Fun bird. The advice I got was not to set down in the cow pasture because they like to lick the bugs off the bubble and you'll Be cleaning cow slobber for days.

The RPM gauge, one needle is the engine RPMS and the other needle is the main rotor RPMS.When you roll off the throttle the engine rpms roll back to idle and the free wheeling clutch lets the rotor disconnect from the engine an continue to spin thus you get a splitting of the rpm needles.

You are such a good teacher, thanks for the lesson, quit interesting one!!!

Thanks for taking the time to make this.

Really thank you for so detailed video! As a pilot-wanna-be, your video was a great boost of my motivation:)

It has been a long time! N666SM I loved that machine!

Great video - you answered a lot of this lay mans questions about the 47.

I can't get enough of this .

Great video Rudy

I love all aircraft, especially military service craft. can't have a pilot license because I am epileptic. however I do like to know things like this. startup procedures are interesting to watch. I went for a ride in a Bell 210jet ranger when I was 12,and have been hooked ever since.

I needed more room to give you more detailed explanation, but the pitch in the tail rotor blades is controlled by the pedal inputs which allow for antitorque control and maintaining the heading during liftoff and hovering and when making power changes.The tail rotor is driven off of the main rotor transmission and turns at a fixed gear ratio with respect to the main rotor RPM. If I can be of any more help to you, please feel free to contact me with your questions. Take care and safe flying!

Great and helpful video. I've just got the 47 for FSX and every switch is exact to the real thing. I'll have fun with this! Could do with a checklist though!

neat video thanks! Its always nice to see how to do these things.

Can't stop watching this !!

It's the best thing you'll ever do. Good luck

Wow, if that's the N# on the upper right side of the instrument panel I learned to fly on that helicopter! It belonged to Highland helicopters at the time and that was in 1999 for me. I earned my private pilot certificate in that machine and wish I had the money to go further but it just didn't happen. The area around looks like a small airport in Oswego NY and that would make sense considering I flew into there a few times when I was earning my certificate. Great video that brings back memories!

It has a clutch so you can start the engine without it being connected to the transmission. The starter has enough power to start the engine, but not the engine and transmission together. Under most cases, if you try to start with the clutch engaged, it will stall out almost immediately. I fly a pretty new Robinson R22 Beta II. It also has a clutch. The engine is a de-rated Lycoming 0-360 de-rated to 114 HP. It works in a very similar way to the bell 47. I usually use the nickname of a "Bubble Copter", due to it's unique exposed frame. You can attach body panels, which improve the aerodynamics at speed but add weight. I like how the Bell 47 series handles in a cross wind, as the exposed frame greatly decreases the effects of crosswinds against the fuselage.

Depending on the model, the 47 can have the Original Franklin or as late as the TVO-360. Yes, there is a clutch. The very last model has a small APU, as it was intended for executive transport (US) and a lot of extra electrics. Remember that the 47 is in the tube radio era, modern radios would have been added to date. The actual radios in that era were under the seats. Now, it is all in the panel. Enjoy!

I have about 1,000 hours in several different G4As. The starter button wasn't on the collective. There was a small lever you pushed down with your right foot to engage the starter. Of course, that was 50 years ago so things have changed a little since then.

awsome now i can steal one...

Very interesting video thanks for uploading. When I was learning to fly a flexwing micro light, I remember checking all round the aircraft then shouting "CLEAR THE PROP" before starting and checking both left and right magnetos. Also checking for full and unrestricted movement of all the controls.

The Bell 47 and the R44 are two great helicopters and I like them both. The R44 is a helicopter you can go some where in because it has some speed. The bells and there are many model 47s are more for working in an area. They are extremely stable but slow. check out Scott's Bell 47s Scott is going to build brand new Bell 47s in the near future. He bought the type certifficate from bell Helicopters.

It may have been out of focus, but I could till tell what he was doing. Great video. and stay safe.

The main and tail rotors cannot be disconnected and always maintain the same ratio of RPM. (The tail rotor is faster than the main rotor.) One of those needles is for rotor RPM and the other is engine RPM. What "splitting the needles" does is check the operation of the clutch. If the engine RPM drops suddenly as in a failure this clutch will allow the rotor to freewheel and autorotate the helicopter to a landing. What he's doing is just closing the throttle and making sure the clutch disengages.

No, but I've seen them out at the factory in Ca. I just finished the factory safety course.

So planning on buying one of these Bell's. About to go for my pilot licence, wish me luck.

Thanks for the correction Mark. It's hard to find exact info on these machines and mechanics that work on 47s that I can call on.

I've flown on 3 different helicopters. A big rickety old 1940's looking I don't know what and can't find pictures. A Magnum PI MD500 and a Bell 47. The 47 was the most enjoyable, most helicoptery helicopter. With the full open bubble and no doors, great visibility. You got a real sensation of "hanging" from the rotors like a basket. You know you're flying. We did some low level canyon dives. Great aircraft. The rickety thing was just too rickety and the MD500 was just *too* smooth. Very fast and nimble but not the same sensation. Might as well be watching a movie screen of being in the air. I guess it's like cars, I prefer the older ones where you really feel the road. In the 47 you can really feel the air.

pretty cool tutorial you gave there. I flew in a R-44 and the flight controlls was some what simular. My questions do would you prefer the R-44 (since its got a rear seat) or the Bell 47?

Great. Perfect checklist. What the engine have this helicopter?

good lesson, think I could do that now

The job market cycles just like the fixed wing market and it depends a great deal on what you are qualified to do. You can usually get a job as flight instructor some where because people are always leaving for a better job. The exact # of pilots and jobs I don't have a # for but you can google it and get a rough estimate.

This kinda makes me sorry I turned down helicopter flight school when I was in the military. I would have been flying the OH13, the Bell 47. Eight of us from our medical company took the flight medical and four of us passed. They told me when I got back to the company I needed to “sign a letter of intent”. Which meant that to go to the flight school, and if I passed I would have to enlist as a warrant office for 4 more years. I turned it down, got out went to college, and tried to get the HLic as a civilian, it didn’t work, girl, married, kids. I did fly but only fixed wing ac.

Rudy, are you able to see the identification tag on the mast to show who produced it?

great video mate!!!! very informative. Pity the camera wasn't connected to ICS for audio input during and after engine start.

This is a bautiful Helicopter to learn Helicopterflighing, at my start at 1988 with 13 hour`s and after 7 hour`s ground soly hover at myself was awesame and 1990 agin more flighing !

Oneonta, NY

Good Idea

Used Bell 47 80-150K USD depending on the model and condition. OR you can buy a Zero time Bell 47 from Scott's Bell 47 for 310K almost brand new.

Thank you for sharing this video. I couldn't see the carb heat test response on the gauges.

HEY, THAT RITE THERE WAS PERTY COOL! THANKS FER THAT!

Glade you enjoyed it sorry it a little out of focus I didn't so the filming

nice

18,000 is about the normal for a private helicopter license. 60-80 K to get all your ratings up to CFII if you are looking to fly for a living.

Has any non-turbine powered helicopter ever used a diesel? I know they're probably too heavy but I'd think a diesel would be ideal since they need no ignition system once started and can run all day at a steady RPM with better fuel efficiency.

Brother, Im a private pilot, but for fixed wing.... on your RPM gauge, when you say split and bring the needles together.... are the two needles for the main and tail rotor? The larger being the main rotor and the smaller being the tail? Do you keep them together by simply keeping the pitch on main low or constant and the tail rotor neutral? Sooooo many questions because I really liked your video and I want to transition into rotor after I finish my instrument rating....

sweet

all helicopter start procedures?

Not bad sounding for a piston helicopter.

Yea I had someone stand in real quick to shoot the video and I wasn't reall happy but it is a 235 Mile trip to re-shoot it so I just let it go. The info is all good.

FOCUS!!!!

you know, you should do it again but with a voice over (you will record later) and just show all the procedure live

Focus!

Almost forget.... Have you tried out the new R-66 Trubine?

Intercomm test should be performed before engine start

what dumpster did you hike those shoes

I notice you have post lights on the instruments. Do you fly at night? I remember reading in "M*A*S*H" that they didn't fly at night, so the doctors knew the worst cases would always be the ones arriving at dawn and dusk. And I don't mean the TV show, I mean the book, which was written by an actual Korean war M*A*S*H surgeon.

Such a simple startup. Just came from a Sikorsky start up video.

All of them will folow a pattern that should look familiar.

Bravo... I think you did well... Don't you have a panic button on that thing? 😅

Where was this video taken?

I like this video.. but why the heck is it out of _Focus?_

Why would someone upload an out-of-focus video??

how much would the average Bell47 go for?

I think it's neet the bat copter was made from one of those

Thanks, I need to get better equipment

How does this compare operational wise to a Rotarway? I know there is a huge difference in the certification process or the lack there of, but seems like you could have a Bell 47 for the price of a Rotarway, no?

Around 60-80k

I read it was about $13,000?

I've always needed to know this incase the zombies come

how hard is it, and how expensive is it to learn how to fly a helicopter? roughly......

Can you recommend where I could get my bell 47 training cheaply! I live in the UK and would like to fulfill a life long ambition and get my licence...I am 55.

Wish the camera had been fixed!

how many job openings are there or helicopter pilots?

Bradooommm!!! Broom broom broom.... Fugfugfuffugfug...... Blagblagblag...... Flew this 47s ....

FOCUS THE CAMERA Oh My God!!

i need glasses the blur is amazin

I would like to see this video re-done with everything in focus.

FOCUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Is this the 47 G with the Lycoming 6?

Thank you! But its just a dream it seems(:

No My friend lets me use this helicopter for videos

I never liked the anti-torque rotor pedals

engine starts at 9:25

Rudy, you need to google Ian's shoelace site. Your's are looking long & loose. Close up could be more in focus. Thanks for doing video, Thumbs UP!

120k

The fuel on that bell helicopter will be Avgas 100LL

Focus of the camera gave me eye cancer

Camera focus was big issue.

Camera focus...

Be good if it was focused!

theme tune to mash...