Lawrence “Larry” Bell was one of the pioneers of vertical flight. His Bell Aircraft Corp. produced P-39 and P-63 fighters during WWII. Meanwhile he was developing helicopters and one made it's first flight in 1943.

He built over 5000 Model 47 units that served in the Korean War and later more than 16,000 UH-1s – the “Hueys” the ionic helicopters that came to serve as the image Vietnam with advanced models still in use today.

He provided a Model 47 to Lyndon Johnson to use during his 1948 campaign. This created quite a stir as he would land right in the middle of most towns for all to see. He then moved Bell Aircraft to Fort Worth TX and became part of the Texas industrial moneyed scene.

Following WWII Bell acquired the services of Nazi General Walter Dornberger who coordinated the V-1 and V-2 rocket programs working with Werner von Braun. Both of whom came to the US through Operation Paperclip that sought to recruit the cream of Nazi scientific knowledge.

Bell was the uncle of Michael Payne and employed him throughout the early and middle sixties.