The Batcopter N3079G at Dixie Classic Fair in 2011
The first appearance of the Batcopter was in the 1966 film Batman. along with the Batmobile, the Batcycle,and The Batboat these vehicles were Batman and Robin's arsenal to combat crime. The Batcopter N3079G was leased for the movie by 20th Century Fox. It cost Fox $750 a day for five days from April 7 to April 11, 1966.
The Batcopter was a functional helicopter provided by National Helicopter Service. It was based on the Bell 47, which was designed by Bell Helicopter Textron . The Batcopter was a G3B-1 model with aircraft registraition number N3079G , which had previously been used in Lassie Come Home ,ABC News,The Green Hornet tv show and THE FBI . To make N3079G The Batcopter, it was fitted with canvas-covered tubular frames and was painted red. The head of a bat was painted on the bubble ,while the Batman symbol was painted on both the sides of the fuel tanks and a bat themed scheme on the ventral fin as well as a batman symbol on the bottom side. The most dangerous design change was the wings, which reduced power by nearly fifty percent.
For the scenes at sea, the Batcopter was taped at Marineland of the Pacific in Palos Verdes, California. Most of the shots were relatively far away as the pilot was Harry Haus, not Adam West, the actor playing Batman. Hubie Kerns donned the Batman outfit to perform the stunts, namely climbing the bat ladder attached to the helicopter while kicking an exploding shark. All the aerial scenes were fllmed air to air formation.
When the Batcopter was returned to National, the wings and tubes were removed. It was repainted to look like all the other helicopters and served various flight duties over the years, such as covering the 1968 Super Bowl and countless news gathering flights. Eventually National replaced its Bell 47's fleet and sold them. The helicopter which had previously starred as The Batcopter was bought by the President of NockAir Helicopter, Inc.,Captain Eugene Nock. He had a team of AP mechanics rebuild , Inspect and repaint N3079G so that it could once again resume its duties as The Batcopter. The wings, however, were not replaced as they caused so much power reduction. The Batcopter has been retrofitted with new equipment and electronics so that it can now attain altitudes up to 18000 feet, speeds up to 105 miles per hour, and flight durations up to 2 hours and 45 minutes.The mighty Batcopter is completly Annualed and Air worthy.
The original Batcopter N3079G has been reunited with it's cast mates of the Batman tv show and is adorned with autographs on it's instrument panel from BATMAN Adam West , ROBIN Burt Ward , CATWOMAN Lee Merriweather, BATGIRL Yvonne Craig, CATWOMAN Julie Newmar,VENUS Terry Moore,MOUSEY Susan Sillo,SUSIE Donna Loren.
