• Bell Helicopter

This 1944 film shows Bell Model 30 Helicopters (NX-41867 and NX-41868) operating both outdoors and indoors. 

The film film is primarily about the flying qualities of the Bell Model 30 NX-41868 helicopter prototype and the engineering behind it (including the rotor and stabilising bar). It begins with footage of designer Arthur M. Young, how the prototype was constructed, and the flight testing of Model 30  NX-41867 undertaken by Floyd Carlson. NX-41868 was an improved version with an enclosed cabin. Larry Bell, President of Bell Aircraft, is shown taking a passenger flight in NX-4168.  The footage Includes the first public demonstration flight of NX-41867 on July 4 1944 at the Pacific Stadium, Buffalo NY before 42,000 spectators with Floyd Carlson at the controls. The film also shows the first indoor helicopter flight in the United States at the 61st Regiment Armoury at Buffalo.