Whirlybirds (1957–1960)

One hundred eleven episodes of this syndicated show were produced between 1956 and 1959, debuting in the US in January 1957. Chuck and P.T. own a helicopter company that is hired to perform... See full summary »

Creators:

Art Napoleon, Jo Napoleon

Stars:

Kenneth Tobey, Craig Hill, Nancy Hale

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Kenneth Tobey	...	Chuck Martin (111 episodes, 1957-1960)
Craig Hill	...	P.T. Moore (111 episodes, 1957-1960)
Nancy Hale	...	Helen Carter (70 episodes, 1957-1960)

Storyline

One hundred eleven episodes of this syndicated show were produced between 1956 and 1959, debuting in the US in January 1957. Chuck and P.T. own a helicopter company that is hired to perform all types of jobs. Janet Culver was the original secretary being replaced by Helen Carter in the second season.

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Plot Keywords:

helicopter

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Genres:

Adventure

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Also Known As:

Copter Patrol

Filming Locations:

Desilu Studios - 9336 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Desilu Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min 30 min (111 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Did You Know?

Trivia

The show used Bell Helicopter Models 47G and 47J Ranger for the series.

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Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theatre 3000: Eegah! (1993)

User Reviews

How many ways can a helicopter come to the rescue?

I remember sitting on my father's lap while watching Whirleybirds in the late '50s. I suspect that I saw every episode, however, as I was so young at the time, the details have long since faded from my memory. What I do recall is my total fascination with the Bell helicopters that were used to accomplish such daring do and my father's lament that Hiller helicopters never seemed to appear in the series. (He had worked for Stanley Hiller as a project engineer in San Carlos, CA.) I'm sure the plots were naive and the characterizations were shallow, but for a 1950's geeky kid who also watched Mr. Wizard, it was heaven for the imagination.