Larry Bell was one of the first to develop a helicopter that didn’t shake itself to pieces. The Model 47 in fact was so good that over 6,200 were built during the next thirty years, and modern light helicopters are remarkably similar in layout.

The Model 47 first flew in December 1945, and received the first licence for a general purpose helicopter four months later.

Our example was the first commercial helicopter to be operated in BC in 1948. It originally had an open cockpit, an enclosed tail boom, and a wheeled undercarriage. An upgrading to 47D standards saw a bubble canopy added, the tail boom uncovered, a tail rotor guard called a "harp" added, plus a skid undercarriage. This helicopter is owned by the Royal British Columbia Museum and is on long-term loan to the BCAM.