1948 - Bell 47-D becames the first helicopter to operate commercially in Florida

 

Believed to be the first helicopter to operate commercially in Florida, is the new Bell 47-D utility craft purchased by Dixie Dusters, Inc., Winter Haven, which has previously been wing two fixed wing planes. Photo shows George C. Petrouleas, former AAF fighter pilot and head of the firm, and C. G. Petrouleas, secretary as they took delivery at the Bell factory at Buffalo. First use will be for dusting citrus and flat crops, and next spring the company expects to use it for dusting and spraying to control mosquitoes and water plants which dog irrigation ditches and waterways. 

___________________________
Aviation Week | January 5, 1948