I haven't seen this mentioned anywhere, so I thought I'd recommend it (I'm not affiliated with the author or publisher).
There is a huge new book on the Bell 47: The Bell 47 Helicopter Story: Birth of the Commercial & Military Helicopter Industry by Robert S. Petite and Jeffrey C. Evans
To call it an encyclopedia would be an understatement, it's 731 pages in a large hardbound format.
It covers each model in separate chapters like Bell 47B - First Commercial Production Version and Bell 47B3 - First Commercial Agricultural Version, etc. This approach makes the various models very clear as opposed to some general histories (like the rather unfortunate Putnam book on Bell) tended to lump the various sub models together. Differences and upgrades are clearly explained in detail.
And for those not that familiar with the 47 lineage, it explains why the advanced-looking cabin 47B was replaced by the decidedly less advanced appearing open cockpit B3s.
There are plenty of good B&W photos and several multi page color sections. Portions of Bell sales brochures have been reproduced (something I would have like to see more of) as well as parts from military pilots and maintenance handbooks.
The authors seem to have access to all the Bell archives (provided by the late Ned Gilliand, a production test pilot and Bell historian) to we see details of mock ups and prototypes of the various models (we see that the prototype47H was much better looking than the final production version, IMHO).
Best of all, it has chapters on stillborn projects like the 5 place turbine model that eventually led to the OH-4 prototypes and the 206 Jet Ranger. Also covered are Bell 47 mods done by various operators, details on overseas production, STCs, production summaries by serial, type and military/civil breakdowns.
The author even takes the time to mention survivors in museums and those still airworthy. many of the color photos show aircraft currently in use.
A few complaints:
-A copy editing note would be the transition from Bell documents to the author's own words isn't always clear.
-If the captions are correct, it seems that Bell (and to a lesser degree the military) was pretty haphazard with their general arrangement drawings (the main culprit seem to be CG detail drawings), as several side views of later 47Gs (G-2A and later) do not show the longer tail boom. I'd politely suggest that the author should not have included them if they're incorrect. There are Bell 47 websites that use incorrect drawings, and model makers always get it wrong trying to pass off a long-boom 47G as a MASH-era ship) so it's a real pet peeve of mine.
-Also, after a technical description of the changes to that model, the book has pages of period notes (presumably, though it's not directly stated) taken from Bell internal magazines, so you get pages of data like " XXX company bought a Bell 47G-2A I 1957. XYZ company bought a Bell 47G-2A in 1957. ABC company bought two Bell 47G-2As in 1957". While it's good to have a roster of initial owners, the style in which it's presented does get old. I would have recommended a tighter listing by year, perhaps presented in a spreadsheet or chart format. Also, since it doesn't include serials or registrations, the information is of limited value.
Still, those are minor complaints that anyone serious enough to buy the book will compensate for...(though it might slip up less knowledgeable people who will use the book for research).
The bad news is the cost. Being a limited production volume, it's expensive. And its weight (plus coming from Canada) leads to a hefty mailing charge as well. With an early buyer's discount, the total cost came to just over $100 dollars. But being a life-long 47 fan (thanks to the Whirlybirds when I was a kid) I'm not complaining.
A great book and a must have for the serious helicopter historian. I haven't had this much fun reading a book in years.
For purchase details, contact the author at:
bpetite@telusplanet.net