I remember when Bell 47's ruled.


ZK-HAQ  at Nelson on 05-12-1963.
Here we have Bell 47G-2 ZK-HAQ c/n 2445 parked at the Franz Josef Fox Glacier air strip on 15-04-1966.
Built aboout early 1959 and initially registered in the US as N6770D it was assembled in NZ by A J Brown & Co Ltd and first flew as ZK-HAQ on 05-11-1963 and was listed with Helicopters (NZ) Ltd the following day. It was involved in a fatal rotor strike in the Matukituki Valley on 01-06-1965 and was damaged agaiin on 07-02-1966 at Waitahu. Another rotor strike on 19-11-1967 at Lake Monowai saw it  cancelled on 11 07-1968.
It went back to the US to Utility Helicopters Inc at Long Beach for a rebuild and rejoined the US register again as` N6770D. It served in the UK as G-BBKW from September 1973 until April of 1976 and then moved across to France to become F-BUXB2. It was still active in 1997.

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