Community Corner
Inventor of First News Helicopter, Made in North Hollywood, Dies [Video]
John D. Silva simplifies a two-ton camera system so it could fit on a chopper.
Fans of police chases on TV have one person to thank: John D. Silva.
That's because Silva, who died Nov. 28 at the age of 92, was the first person to outfit a helicopter with a TV news camera.
While working for KTLA in 1958, he trimmed 2,000 pounds of camera equipment to 368 pounds so it would fit on a chopper, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Find out what's happening in North Hollywood-Toluca Lakewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The first machine to successfully fly was put together in a North Hollywood backyard in secrecy, according to the Times.
Click here for the full Los Angeles Times story.
Find out what's happening in North Hollywood-Toluca Lakewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Check out the accompanying YouTube video to hear a 2002 interview with Silva about his revolutionary project.
Click here to watch Sam Rubin's KTLA tribute to Silva.
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