In 1972 one of Mattels coolest toys came out on the market, the Vertibird! This was one of my favorite toys as a kid. I had the Vertibird Rescue Ship which was a Coast Guard Ship made of styrofoam with the helicopter and launch pad. I remember playing with the toy for hours on the carpet/ocean of our livingroom. Apparentlly there were problems with kids putting the ships in the pool and bathtub shorting them out. The Vertibird was a lightweight helicopter attached to a rotating wire so you could fly around in circles. Powered by 4 D batteries, it was controlled with 2 joy sticks, throttle fast or slow, hover, dive, rescue! There were many versions of the Vertibird including the Rescue Ship, Police Rescue, Space Ship Rescue, Polar Rescue, Airborn Rescue Mission and MegaForce. The toy was discontinued by Mattel in 1983 for an unknown reason. Vertibird® Air Police Set [Below] SET CONTENTS: Vertibird police copter, dual flight controls, radar screen, road block, 15" of pavement, get-away car, label set, complete assembly and operating instructions.