Central and South America.
The trip began in 1956 shortly after the Bell
Model 47J was certified but before commercial sales began. At the time, Mashman was the Assistant Director of Contracts and Joe Beebe, the Bell Senior Service Representative, accompanied him. The helicopter chosen was the second 47J off the production line. It was slightly modified and nick- named the Silver Hummingbird.
The trip lasted 83 days, covered 17,000 miles
through 15 countries and logged 250 flight hours. The South American tour was extremely successful. Not only did Mashman thoroughly demonstrate the new 47J to many potential customers, but also more importantly Mashman and Beebe showed how reliable the helicopter was and how little maintenance it required. Mashman later estimated that during the whole trip, Beebe only performed 40 hours of maintenance on the helicopter, with most of that com- ing during preflight inspections. FLYING magazine writer C. L. Hamilton later described the trip as “one of the milestone performances of general aviation progress (Padfield, 1992).” One of the most notable events during the trip occurred in Peru. While in Lima, Mashman was told about a girl who had been seriously injured in a car accident in a mountain mining town. The town was 55 miles away by air and at an elevation of 13,000 feet. The girl was so badly injured that she could not be transported over the roads. Mashman agreed to attempt a medevac, which required a climb to 17,000 feet to cross the Andes. Mashman knew that he would need every ounce of power that he could get out of the helicopter so he had Beebe strip all the cowlings and doors off of the helicopter and replace the spark plugs and fan belt.
His first
attempt was with a Peruvian Air Force officer who knew the area. However he could not climb over the mountains with the weight of the passenger. Mashman returned, disembarked the officer and tried the medevac again with
Above: Joe Mashman is shown demonstrating a Bell Model 47J on the south lawn of the White House in 1956. Photo: Courtesy of the Mashman Aviation History File
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52