The original Batcopter from the 1960s TV show — here giving a lift to Adam West (Batman) and Julie Newmar (Catwoman) — will offer two-minute rides at $30 to fair visitors. Other attractions include the usual array of rides as well as free concerts and a sea lion show.TV's Batcopter swoops in on State Fair Meadowlands
Thursday, June 17, 2010
BY JIM BECKERMAN The Record, STAFF WRITER
Holy cool promotions, Batman!
The original Batcopter – airborne cousin to the Batmobile in the campy 1966-1968 TV series – will be winging its bat-way to the annual State Fair at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, where it will be competing with racing pigs, deep-fried Oreos, circus clowns and more than 150 rides and attractions. The fair, in the sports complex parking lots, runs tonight to July 5
There's a lot of 'Batman' fans wherever you go," says pilot and owner Eugene Nock of Sarasota, Fla., who flies his custom copter to scads of events each year. "The Batcopter is a happy thing. I think it brings back good memories. It's all about fun. I think that's what people remember."
For $30, you can take a two-minute ride in the helicopter that flew Batman (Adam West), Robin (Burt Ward) and Batgirl (Yvonne Craig) – their signatures are on the instrument panel — to their knockdown-dragouts with the Joker, the Riddler, Catwoman and the Penguin. Pilot Nock still does publicity events, each year, with these and other "Batman" actors.
"I only do the biggest events in the country, because the Batcopter deserves that kind of coverage," says Nock, who will also be piloting an aerial stunt show.
There's a lot more at the Meadowlands fair, of course – magic acts, free concerts, "human oddities" sideshows, the Piccadilly Circus, a sea lion show, a "Bubble Wrap popping event" on June 27, and the usual bumper crop of carousels, coasters, Ferris wheels, Himalayas and Scramblers.
But the Batcopter, built originally for the 1966 "Batman" spinoff feature film and used later in the series, is in a bat-class of its own – not least because of its checkered career as one of TV's first regularly employed whirlybirds.
Not only was the Batcopter – a Bell 47, model G3B-1 — in front of the camera on the "Batman," "Green Hornet" and "Lassie" series, but it also was used by ABC behind the scenes to film fires, floods and the early Super Bowls. "This was the first helicopter in California that was used for helicopter camera," Nock says.
The Batcopter came into Nock's possession almost by accident.
His Florida company, NockAir, does promotional events and movie stunt work; in the late 1990s he had been looking to add a copter to his fleet. He made a few calls, and soon he had dibs on a machine in Oregon.
Every U.S. helicopter is assigned an individual "N" registration number, displayed prominently on the side of the machine. This bird's number was N3079G. Something about that number – seen in the logbook Nock was sent as a prospectus — was strangely familiar. "The minute I saw that I started laughing," he says. "I called my wife, I called my friends. I said, 'You won't believe what I have on my desk. It's the logbook of the original Batcopter!' "
The sleek red dragonfly of a copter, with its glass-bubble cockpit, is a righteous machine in itself. But Nock, who comes from a show business family (his brother is Bello the Clown from the Big Apple Circus and formerly with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey), recognized the value of its "Batman" associations. He spent $300,000 to refurbish it and bring it back to its former bat-splendor. "I think I was the perfect guy to end up with the machine," he says. "I respect it. I'm a bat-fan."
Just how hot is the Batcopter? Hot enough to have its own agent.
"The Batcopter and Burt Ward have the same agent, believe it or not," Nock says. "If you want to book the helicopter, you have to go through this guy."
E-mail: beckerman@northjersey.com
WHAT: State Fair Meadowlands.
WHEN: 6 p.m. to midnight Monday to Thursday; 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. Friday; 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday; 2 p.m. to midnight Sunday. Special hours tonight (5 p.m. to 1 a.m.); July 3 and 4 (2 p.m. to 2 a.m.) and July 5 (2 p.m. to midnight). Through July 5.
WHERE: East Rutherford. 201-372-4080 or njfair.com.
HOW MUCH: $7 adults, $5 for children Monday to Thursday; $9 for adults, $6 for children Fridays, weekends and holidays.
Holy cool promotions, Batman!
The original Batcopter – airborne cousin to the Batmobile in the campy 1966-1968 TV series – will be winging its bat-way to the annual State Fair at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, where it will be competing with racing pigs, deep-fried Oreos, circus clowns and more than 150 rides and attractions. The fair, in the sports complex parking lots, runs tonight to July 5
There's a lot of 'Batman' fans wherever you go," says pilot and owner Eugene Nock of Sarasota, Fla., who flies his custom copter to scads of events each year. "The Batcopter is a happy thing. I think it brings back good memories. It's all about fun. I think that's what people remember."
For $30, you can take a two-minute ride in the helicopter that flew Batman (Adam West), Robin (Burt Ward) and Batgirl (Yvonne Craig) – their signatures are on the instrument panel — to their knockdown-dragouts with the Joker, the Riddler, Catwoman and the Penguin. Pilot Nock still does publicity events, each year, with these and other "Batman" actors.
"I only do the biggest events in the country, because the Batcopter deserves that kind of coverage," says Nock, who will also be piloting an aerial stunt show.
There's a lot more at the Meadowlands fair, of course – magic acts, free concerts, "human oddities" sideshows, the Piccadilly Circus, a sea lion show, a "Bubble Wrap popping event" on June 27, and the usual bumper crop of carousels, coasters, Ferris wheels, Himalayas and Scramblers.
But the Batcopter, built originally for the 1966 "Batman" spinoff feature film and used later in the series, is in a bat-class of its own – not least because of its checkered career as one of TV's first regularly employed whirlybirds.
Not only was the Batcopter – a Bell 47, model G3B-1 — in front of the camera on the "Batman," "Green Hornet" and "Lassie" series, but it also was used by ABC behind the scenes to film fires, floods and the early Super Bowls. "This was the first helicopter in California that was used for helicopter camera," Nock says.
The Batcopter came into Nock's possession almost by accident.
His Florida company, NockAir, does promotional events and movie stunt work; in the late 1990s he had been looking to add a copter to his fleet. He made a few calls, and soon he had dibs on a machine in Oregon.
Every U.S. helicopter is assigned an individual "N" registration number, displayed prominently on the side of the machine. This bird's number was N3079G. Something about that number – seen in the logbook Nock was sent as a prospectus — was strangely familiar. "The minute I saw that I started laughing," he says. "I called my wife, I called my friends. I said, 'You won't believe what I have on my desk. It's the logbook of the original Batcopter!' "
The sleek red dragonfly of a copter, with its glass-bubble cockpit, is a righteous machine in itself. But Nock, who comes from a show business family (his brother is Bello the Clown from the Big Apple Circus and formerly with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey), recognized the value of its "Batman" associations. He spent $300,000 to refurbish it and bring it back to its former bat-splendor. "I think I was the perfect guy to end up with the machine," he says. "I respect it. I'm a bat-fan."
Just how hot is the Batcopter? Hot enough to have its own agent.
"The Batcopter and Burt Ward have the same agent, believe it or not," Nock says. "If you want to book the helicopter, you have to go through this guy."
E-mail: beckerman@northjersey.com
WHAT: State Fair Meadowlands.
WHEN: 6 p.m. to midnight Monday to Thursday; 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. Friday; 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday; 2 p.m. to midnight Sunday. Special hours tonight (5 p.m. to 1 a.m.); July 3 and 4 (2 p.m. to 2 a.m.) and July 5 (2 p.m. to midnight). Through July 5.
WHERE: East Rutherford. 201-372-4080 or njfair.com.
HOW MUCH: $7 adults, $5 for children Monday to Thursday; $9 for adults, $6 for children Fridays, weekends and holidays.
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