Batcopter
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The Batcopter is the
Wayne Aerospace
The military aviation branch designs and manufactures jet fighters and helicopters for the U.S. military. The most notable models of these are the W-4 Wraith fighter and the Kestrel attack helicopter.
Whirly-Bat
The Whirly-Bat[2] was Batman's single-occupant mini-copter, designed with an aft counter tail rotor, which it would need to keep from spinning out of control.[3] It was swift and highly-maneuverable. However, the Whirly-Bat's lightweight design prohibited the additional weight of offensive weaponry.
The Whirly-Bat makes an appearance in the 2012 video game Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes. They occasionally made appearances in Filmation's The Adventures of Batman and Robin, 1968.
Flying Batcave
The "Flying Batcave" was a giant helicopter with many of the real Batcave's scientific amenities. They included:
- Panoramic video surveillance
- Smoke-screen generators to provide artificial cloud-over.
However, the "Flying Batcave" required frequent refueling, thus significantly reducing patrol time.
In relation to Batman (TV series)
During lease
The first appearance of the Batcopter was in the
The Batcopter was a functional helicopter provided by National Helicopter Service.
For the scenes at sea, the Batcopter was taped at Marineland of the Pacific in Palos Verdes, California. Most of the shots were relatively far away as the pilot was Harry Haus, not Adam West, the actor playing Batman. Hubie Kerns donned the Batman outfit to perform the stunts, namely climbing the rope ladder attached to the helicopter while kicking and pepper-spraying a shark which then explodes.[8]
Additional footage of the Batcopter was shot for eventual inclusion in seasons two and three of the TV series.
After lease
When the Batcopter was returned to National, the wings and tubes were removed. It was repainted to look like all the other helicopters and was used for various purposes over the years, such as covering the 1968 Super Bowl. Eventually National replaced its Bell 47's and sold them. The helicopter which had previously served as the Batcopter was bought by the President of NockAir Helicopter, Inc., Eugene Nock. He repainted it and replaced the tubes so that it could once again be called the Batcopter. The wings, however, were not replaced as they were manufactured specifically for the Batman movie and were insured for only that use. Extending the products liability insurance for their continued use after the movie was not possible so National kept the wings in-house for many years in case a sequel was considered. The wings were destroyed around 1979 so that there would be no possibility of their re-installation. The Batcopter has been retrofitted with new equipment and electronics so that it can now attain altitudes up to 18000 feet, speeds up to 105 miles per hour, and flight times up to 2 hours and 45 minutes.
Film
A helicopter-like vehicle appears in the film
Toys
References
- ISBN 9780345501066.
- ^ "The Unofficial Whirly-Bat Chronology". Dcuguide.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2010-09-16.
- ISBN 9780345501066.
- ^ "Batman Television". Batmanytb.com. Retrieved 2010-09-16.
- ^ "National Helicopter Web site with photo". Archived from the original on 2011-07-14.
- ^ faa registry
- ^ German language blog entry examining the appearances of the helicopter in various episodes of Lassie, the TV-series http://helikopterhysteriezwo.blogspot.de/2014/04/the-movies-and-tv-29-lassie.html
- ^ Shark scene
- ^ a b "The Dark Knight Rises Production Notes" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 6, 2012. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
- ^ "'Dark Knight Rises': Batwing First Look!". MTV. August 15, 2011. Retrieved February 25, 2012.
- Superhero Hype!. June 14, 2012. Retrieved June 23, 2012.
- ^ "BATCOPTER". Toyotter.com. Archived from the original on 2010-05-17. Retrieved 2010-09-16.
External links
- The Unofficial Batcopter Biography
- Batman: Collected Issues of the Dark Knight - Batman #203
- Television - Batman: The Series - Gadgets - Batcopter
- Character Profiles - Gadgets - Batcopter
- Character Profiles - Gadgets - Flying Batcave
- Character Profiles - Gadgets - Whirly-Bat
- Character Profiles - Gadgets - Batgyro
- FAA registry of the Batcopter Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine