Bell 47

This story was first published on January 14th of 2018 under the headline, Helicopter Crash Had Huge Impact on Independence of Oregon Journalism.

Here we go.

A few days before Christmas in 1947, a young ex-Navy flyer looking to kill a little time before dinner invited a friend to come out for a quick spin around a nearby golf course in his new helicopter.

An hour later, the two young men were both dead in the burning wreckage of the helicopter, and the future course of journalism in Portland had been forever changed, and not for the better.

At the end of the Second World War, the Portland Journal had never been in better position.

Its main competitor, the Morning Oregonian, was still technically larger.

Sam was more than little reminiscent of his grandfather.

Great things were expected of him when it came to be his turn to run the family business.

I took my helicopter training in Victoria, and I just saw one at the museum here in Kelowna.

A Bell 47 is out there.

Have you seen the museum here? Mm-hmm.

Yeah, that's where we used to do the lunch for Okanagan Dream Rally.

saying, it's...

It's funny that we both did the same thing.

The R44 is a newer model of the Bell 47.

I hadn't seen a 47 until I went out there since I took my training.

Yeah, I mean, I think for me, I mean, I wasn't involved with every discussion with my mother on when the right time would sell.

The thing with helicopters is especially that his was a Bell 47 helicopter.

And so if you're wondering what that looks like, it's not some fancy, you know, if you're old enough, Airwolf, you know, type of helicopter.

It's more like the ones in Matt, you know, the big bubble in the front.