Whirlybirds

On behalf of The New Whirlybirds I thank you for your loyalty to this premium action series. Introducing the star of the show, the Bell 47, and creating diverse plots were the reasons why many like Danny and I chose to become helicopter pilots. As one of our friends said to Ken Tobey when he graciously appeared (Craig Hill moved to Spain and does not care to be involved in any recollection of the series he is actively involved in TV there) at our 2001 Bell 47 Fly and took his ride in The New Whirlybirds' helicopter N9FK, "Although the actors were not pilots, they were pilots to their fans." I encourage all fans to support this show through the mission that The New Whirlybirds have taken to pay tribute to their efforts. Trivia: Original Whirlybirds Director Bruce Bilson introduced The New Whirlybirds in 2003 at L.A. Bell Helicopter sponsors their appearances to remind people of The Bell 47 - The helicopter that saved so many lives. Trivia: Helicopters used were a Bell 47 G - G2 - Ranger J model. Trivia: Everything was done with hand signals - no radios. Trivia: Director Robert Altman got his start on the show and is one of the reasons why it was so well organized. Trivia. The main pilot of the show was Bob Gilbreath who tragically died in an helicopter accident shortly after the show.

A great show that was syndicated. Two guys run a Helicopter company (and of course have a good looking secretary) and help out the police, firefighters, Army etc, whenever they can. Which of course was every episode. They were either tracking escaped criminals or rescuing some bonehead who had gotten themselves stranded out in the middle of nowhere. Each episode managed to let the viewer know that the Helicopter was really the shows star. When this show was being run every helicopter pilot around must have thought "How come I never have any adventures like those Whirlybird guys" Blue Thunder and Airwolf came years later and featured helos but never seemed to match the magic of this late 50's gem.

This late 50's series was repeated in the 70's over here in the U.K and my Brother and I were addicted to it (as addicted to Champion The Wonder Horse!).

Many an hour was spent "being the Whirlybirds" and wishing that we had a Helicopter and got up to the same "daring do's" that the two leads in the series did.

I remember the series well and would love to see at least just one episode again to see if it was a fun as I remember. But it may be best that I dont, endless shots of the copter and some chump stuck up to his waist in mud may not have the same "exciting" look as they did when I was 6, but you never know

I watched every episode every Friday night when it aired back in the mid 50's and loved every episode. I wonder why this series has never been released on video. I for one would buy every episode, that is how much I loved the 'Whirlybirds'. I've been hoping they would show them on Nick at Night. No such luck though. There has never been a TV series as great as the 'Whirlybirds'.

N975B and N238B. Mere meaningless numbers to most people, but forever burned in to my brain as the "N" FAA registration numbers painted on the sides of the two helicopters that starred in the Whirleybirds TV series of the late 50's. The Bell 47G with the bubble canopy and the Bell Ranger with the front-sitting pilot and three pax behind him became the quintissential vertical flying machines of the day. This show is such a classic black and white icon of its time, it's hard to understand why he haven't seen it since. Where are Sky King, Sea Hunt and My Favorite Martian (where Mrs. Brown baked brownies)? Yet we have been inundated with re-runs of I Love Lucy, The Honeymooners and the Dick Van Dyke Show. I grew up with Whirleybirds, salivated over every episode while eating mac-n-cheese and orange pop, and wanted to cry when it was over. I took one helicopter flying lesson and then learned how expensive these machines are to operate. If somebody would bring back a high-quality DVD series of this show, here is my credit card number...