A telecopter is a helicopter used to gather footage for television stations. It is a portmanteau of television and helicopter.
The KTLA Telecopter was the world's first television news helicopter, which first went into operation in 1958 and was invented by John D. Silva. The on-board video and audio equipment communicated with a line of sight KTLA transmitter receiver on top of Mount Wilson. The first helicopter was leased to KTLA by National Helicopter Service and Engineering Company in Van Nuys. For several years, KTLA (channel 5) was the only TV station with a helicopter based TV camera crewed reporting platform.
The Telecopter was designed and introduced by KTLA chief engineer John D. Silva (1920-2012)."John D. Silva dies at 92; introduced news helicopter", Bob Pool, Los Angeles Times, December 7, 2012
Today, KTLA's news helicopter is known as "Sky 5" and it is used during breaking news coverage.
Versions The first three Telecopters were: Version Year Helicopter Notes 1 1958 Bell 47G-2 Equipment mounted externally 2 1959 Bell 47J-2 Ranger Equipment mounted internally 3 1969 Bell 206 JetRanger
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