They had a car, boat, cycle, but what crime fighters stable would be complete without a way to take to the air ? Enter the Batcopter !
The Batcopter was introduced in the 1966 full length feature film "Batman" along with the Batboat and Batcycle. Lets get the lowdown on this fine example of Bat gadgets at its best.
The Batcopter was a real helicopter based on
the Bell 47 design. The Bell 47 was so named because it was manufactured by The
Bell Corporation and it had it's beginnings in 1941. By 1946 Bell 47's were
rolling off the assembly lines. Much like the Model T was to the auto world,
the same could be said for this bird. Bell did a great job of marketing the 47,
the first applications were military - who can forget the dramatic scenes from
M.A.S.H with the Bell 47 on mercy missions to save American lives in the Korean
War? By the 50's Bell had promoted and trained pilots to take it to the civilian
markets as well. Military, Forestry, construction, The Bell 47 performed in the
most harsh conditions, from the desert to the ice packed Alaska, The Bell
47 performed where no other means were possible. Bell continually improved on
the design through the years creating more than 20 different basic
configurations during its 
production
run. It was only natural that the Bell 47 would find it's way to
Hollywood, a star was born. Not only was the Bell 47 a great on screen actor, it
was also developed as a perfect camera platform providing once impossible shots
now with ease as it hovered above tinsel town and beyond. As with all good
things, the Bell 47's production came to an end in 1973. Bell produced over 5000
during its 27 year production. This is the story of just one of the Bell Copters
- one with wings !
The first Bell copters were used for the
military but it didn't
take long for the workhorse to enter into the commercial world. Enter a
California company, National
Helicopter Service.
National Helicopter started in 1957 when Helicopters were a completely new field
of endeavor. Dick Hart and crew pushed the limits of the 47, They used
copters for running power lines, developed some of the first traffic copters for
a rapidly growing Los Angeles area, aerial tours, crop dusting, geological
surveys, construction delivery, anything you could do with a copter, they did it
from their offices at the Van Nuys 
Airport.
When Hollywood called, it was National that answered. Desilu Productions decided
to do a new show based on the Bell 47 and the exciting world of Helicopters.
This would bring the "newfangled contraption" the copter, to a
nationwide audience. Before my time, before M.A.S.H, National and Desilu made a
star out of the exciting stories cooked up for the series Whirlybirds. The
series was an instant hit, they produced 111episodes. The show had a big draw;
some estimates place the Whirlybirds weekly audience share as high as 25
million fans- WOW. National handled all technical aspects of
the show, they created a cutaway copter for use in the studio and took care of
all the flying and filming coordination needed for the production. Pilots Bob
Gilbreath, Harry Hauss and Ed Fuderich, doubled for the
on screen stars in the flying sequences and, when needed, flew the occasional
"guest 47". Together these airmen showcased the ability and utility of
the Bell 47G in an endless variety of useful roles and applications. The
show lasted until 1959. National was involved in hundreds of TV shows, too many
to list here, here's a photo from a Lassie episode and another one with on
of National's copters on the Desilu Backlot where Batman Filmed in 1966 !
Alright, fast forward to 1966, Batman is in full swing and getting ready to wrap the first season and begin production on the full length feature movie "Batman" where to get a cool copter for the bat ? National of course. The producers contacted them and worked out the details of the future Batcopter to be used. The Batcopter was unique in that it was not created for the show as were the Batboat, Batcycle, Batmobile it was picked by National from one of their existing stable of 30+ Bell 47's for use as the Batcopter. They decided to use their copter with the registration, N3079G.
It was built by Bell in 1964 and was a G3B-1 model. The G3B1 was one of the most widely produced by bell with the number exceeding 300. They constantly made improvements through the production run so the model numbers constantly changed. Before being the Batcopter, it was used in many roles, It was an ABC news copter and had duty on many TV shows Lassie included. The copter was painted red, fitted with tubular frames covered in canvas to give it a "bat wing " effect which was cool however VERY dangerous with the wings attached. The wings reduced the power of the copter by 40% to 50% which was less than ideal!
Click Here To See The Batcopter in action !
270KB
The copter was leased by 20th Century Fox for the movie and National prepared the copter for its on screen debut. All the filming of the copter was done from National's old Hangar at Van Nuys Airport starting on 04-07-1966 for 5 days at a rate of 750.00 per day. The scenes of the copter at sea were filmed at the old Marineland in Palos Verdes CA. The folks rolling out the copter in the movie were employees of National and while Adam looked good behind the seat he never flew it. The pilot for the movie was Harry Hauss one of Nationals top notch men. Dick Hart the owner of National was a college friend of Hubie Kerns who did all the stunts for the show.
Here are some really neat shots given to me by Richard Hart of National Helicopter Service of behind the scenes photos when they filmed the movie.
In this photo Richard and his sisters, Susan and Helen try out the Batcopter
Family Friend Chris Phillips, Adam West, Jeanne Hart and Richard Hart Sr. at the hangar door where filming took place.
Richard Hart Sr. and Burt Ward in the Hangar
Chris Phillips and Jeanne Hart about to take off !
Here is some interesting trivia about the Batcopter -
The rope ladder used was the same one that was used by National in as probably 50 additional movies and TV shows. and was seen in Whirlybirds ten years earlier. Dick tells me he still has the rope ladder but I believe he told me it is retired :)
During the scene where the copter crash lands in a pile of foam rubber( here's a clue, they really didn't crash it ) the copter rotor was damaged and 20th Century Fox had to pay the bill for the repairs. The scene was shot on the backlot of Fox Studios on the New York Street Set.
The scene of Adam on the ladder was shot in the studio as a process shot ( scene projected behind him) poor Hubie was the one who got dunked and had to hold on for his life. Notice the rotor wash in the water under Hubie vs the assistant on the floor in the studio.
This copter - N3079G was the only one used in filming Batman and when the series was over, it was repainted, the Bat logos removed and placed back in service for National.
In 1968 The Former Batcopter was used by ABC to cover the 1968 Superbowl !
As with all technology, The fleet of Bell 47's
that had served
National so well for 20 years was getting older and they needed to compete so National
replaced all their Bell 47's with new turbo models in the late 70's and old N3079G
was sold at auction along with the others. Richard told me that he kept the
Batwings around for about 15 more years until the canvas started to deteriorate
and he threw them out. I told him, wow too bad and he told me- "we had done
so many shows that this was just another in a long line, Had we kept all the
props we ever used, we would have no room for our aircraft." He was a
really super guy to help me out and I thank him. To see some other shots from
their TV and movie productions or get more info on their services go to:
The National Helicopter Service Website
Most folks would think that's the end of the story, copter is sold, gone and forgotten. I still wanted to know what happened to it, the final resting place. Possibly it was used to transport sick horses to the vet in rural Tibet? nope, here is the final chapter of the Batcopter saga. The copter after it was sold was used in routine copter duties but in 1996 a remarkable thing happened, A person with vision entered into our little story about the Batcopter, His name was Eugene Nock,the President of NockAir Helicopter, Inc. Eugene came from a long line of performing folks. In 1954, His Father, Eugene Sr. was brought to the United States by John Ringling North to perform his spectacular sway-pole act. From 90 feet in the air, Nock and his family swayed on pine poles before switching poles for the act's finale. In 1961, they performed for the Queen of England who commented, "Those people are truly nerveless." And with that the Nerveless Nocks began.
1996 Eugene was in the market for a copter and the Bell 47 was available. Upon examination of the log books on the Bell, it was shown to have been THE Batcopter used in the Full length feature film and TV show. Eugene was not content at slapping a coat of paint on it and some decals and calling it the Batcopter, He decided that it needed to be restored to its prior glory. You can imagine the shape a 35 year old copter would be after many years of service. The copter was in good shape overall but it was tired. Eugene did a COMPLETE 1200 hour inspection was done and no expense was spared bringing the former movie star back to life.
Eugene realized he had a piece of
history and the Batcopter has been sponsored by some of Aviation's finest
manufactures Including: David Clark head sets and intercoms, Hooker
Aviation Harnesses, San Diego Leather wear, Champion Aviation Spark plugs, Gill
Aircraft Battery, Randolph Sunglasses, Skytronics, Dawley Aircraft Exhaust,
Airmark Aircraft Overhaul, Michelin Aircraft Tire, and SEM Paints. Many of the
electronics were upgraded and every nut and bolt checked. It was better than new
!
WOW! Here is some beautiful photos sent to me by Capt. Nock taken by
fellow Bat Fan Charlie Kopishke.
The Batcopter today is still flown regularly by Capt. Eugene A. Nock, A.T.P. and is capable of speeds up to 105 mph and can reach altitudes up to 18,000 feet. It can stay aloft for 2 hours and 45 minutes with a 15 minute reserve. Some people say that the Batcopter is the most famous Helicopter of all time and I would have to agree. The Batcopter is valued today in the 500,000.บบ range. If you happen to be lucky enough to catch Eugene in one of his appearances in an airshow near you, don't miss it ! He also is the producer of the Batman Carnival of chaos Stunt Show at Six Flags over Texas.
Whew, quite a bit of info, Thanks to Richard Hart and Eugene Nock for their help, without it, I certainly couldn't have done this tribute to the famous Copter. Thanks to Charlie Kopishke for the beautiful photos.
David
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