John D. Silva passed away on Nov. 27th from pneumonia at the ripe old age of 92 his family has announced.
Who's John Silva and why should we care?
Every day you see Johns legacy every time you see TV news helo footage. John convinced the management at Los Angeles' KTLA that for a $40,000.00 investment he could outfit the stations rented BELL 47 with a TV camera light enough to make aerial news and traffic coverage an every day thing. He literally reduced a ton of camera and support equipment down to 368 lbs that the little BELL could lift. Next time you're watching that overhead TV coverage of an accident or fire, tip a hat to John.