50 years later, Bell’s Cobra helicopter still going strong

Many people will go about their lives on Labor Day unaware that it’s the golden anniversary of the first flight of an aircraft that played a huge role in the Vietnam War.

“The Cobra saved hundreds if not thousands of lives in Vietnam by flying as an escort to Hueys,” said Mike Folse, 81, of Denton.

Folse, a Bell Helicopter engineer from 1954 to 1971, said he designed the Bell AH-1 Cobra in an act of desperation. After Bell lost a contract to Lockheed for production of an attack helicopter, Folse said he started working on a conceptual sketch of a new warbird.

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