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The Bell 47 (military H-13 Sioux) was the first helicopter to be certified for civil use, in May 1946. It was largely designed by Arthur M. Young who assigned his helicopter patents to, and joined Bell Helicopter in 1941. Over 5,600 were produced through 1974, including 1200 under license in Italy, 239 in Japan, and 239 in the UK. The British version of the 47G, called by the British Army the Sioux, was built by Westland Helicopters for use by the Army Air Corps, who used it until the early 1980s.

Early models had open cockpits or sheet metal cabins, but the most common model, the 47G , introduced in 1953, can be recognized by the full bubble canopy, exposed welded-tube tail boom, and saddle fuel tanks. Later H and J models had a regular cabin with full cowling and monocoque tail boom. Engines were Franklin or Lycoming horizontally-opposed piston engines of 200 to 305 HP (150 to 230 kW). Seating varied from two to four.

This was the helicopter popularized in the 1957–1959 television series The Whirlybirds, and later the movie and television series M*A*S*H. A design, as well as a utilitarian, success, it was added to the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art of New York in 1984. Many are still in use as trainers and in agriculture (as of 2005).

NASA had a number of Bell 47s during the Apollo programme which astronauts used as a primitive trainer for the Lunar Lander. Eugene Cernan had a near disastrous accident shortly before his flight to the moon on Apollo 17 by crashing one into the Indian River at high speed.

Specifications (Bell 47G)

General

• Crew: 1
• Capacity: 3
• Length: 9.63 m (31.6 ft)
• Height: 2.83 m (9.28 ft)
• Rotor diameter: 11.32 m (37.2 ft)
• Main rotor disk area: 100.8 m² (1085 ft²)
• Empty: 858 kg (1893 lb)
• Maximum takeoff: 1340 kg (2950 lb)
• Powerplant: one Lycoming TVO-435-F1A flat six piston engine, 210 kW (280 hp)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 169 km/h (105 mi/h, 91 kt)
• Cruise speed: 135 km/h (84 mi/h, 73 kt) at 1,525 m (5,000 ft)
• Range: 395 km (245 mi, 214 nm) at 1,830 m (6,000 ft)
• Hover ceiling: 5,400 m IGE; 3900 m OGE (17,700 IGE; 12,700 OGE ft)
• Rate of climb: 262 m/min (860 ft/min)

Military Operators

• Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Libya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, New Zealand, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Senegal, South Yemen, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom (Army, RAF), United States (Air Force, Coast Guard, Navy, Marine Corps), Uruguay, Venezuela, Zaire, Zambia.

External links

• Story of Arthur M. Young and the development of the Model 47 (PDF file with photographs)
• Bell 47 enthusiast site attempts to cover all aspects of the Model 47
• Model 47G museum site
• Model 47G specs from The International Directory of Civil Aircraft by Gerard Frawley

Helicopters

Bell 47 | ベル47 (航空機) | Bell 47