Whirlybirds

The Whirlybirds flew into our television sets from 1957 to 1960. Featuring Bell 47 helicopters, Chuck Martin (Kenneth Tobey) and Pete "P.T." Moore (Craig Hill) are the owners of Whirlybirds, Incorporated, a chopper for hire company based in California.

Each week, Chuck and P.T. would find themselves called to help the local authorities in search and rescue, or fly a rich bigwig around. And of course, let's not forget the coolest of helicopters, the Bell 47, tail number N975B.

The Whirlybirds was another hit series produced by Desilu Studios and ran three seasons in syndication . The show was filmed at the San Fernando airport and Whitman Field in and around Van Nuys, California and was conceived after a show idea from an I Love Lucy episode.

Helen Carter (Nancy Hale) was the firm's secretary, replacing Janet Culver (Sandra Spence) midway through the 1st season.

The show was the first television series to feature helicopters as it's main focus and inspired hundreds of young people to become chopper pilots. The Whirlybirds was also the place of introduction for Bell's improved model helicopter, the Bell 47J Ranger.