Igor Sikorsky and the History of the Helicopter

Igor Sikorsky and the History of the Helicopter During the mid-1500s, Italian inventor Leonardo Da Vinci made drawings of an ornithopter flying machine that some experts say inspired the modern helicopter. In 1784, French inventors named Launoy and Bienvenue created a toy with a rotary-wing that could lift and fly. The toy proved the principle of helicopter flight. Origins of the Name In 1863, the French writer Ponton DAmecourt was the first person to coin the term helicopter from the words hello for spiral and pter for wings. The very first piloted helicopter was invented by Paul Cornu in 1907.  However, this design did not work. French inventor Etienne Oehmichen was more successful. He built and flew a helicopter one kilometer in 1924. Another early helicopter that flew for a decent distance was the German Focke-Wulf Fw 61, invented by an unknown designer. Who Invented the Helicopter? Igor Sikorsky is considered to be the father of helicopters not because he was the first to invent it, but because he invented the first successful helicopter upon which further designs were based. One of aviations greatest designers, Russian-born Igor Sikorsky began work on helicopters as early as 1910. By 1940, Igor Sikorskys successful VS-300 had become the model for all modern single-rotor helicopters. He also designed and built the first military helicopter, the XR-4, which he delivered to Colonel Franklin Gregory of the U.S. Army. Igor Sikorskys helicopters had the control capabilities to fly safely forwards and backward, up and down, and sideways. In 1958, Igor Sikorskys rotorcraft company made the worlds first helicopter that had a boat hull. It could land and take off from the water. The design floated on water as well. Stanley Hiller In 1944, American inventor Stanley Hiller, Jr. made the first helicopter with all-metal rotor blades that were very stiff. They allowed the helicopter to fly at speeds much faster than before. In 1949, Stanley Hiller piloted the first helicopter flight across the United States, piloting a helicopter that he invented called the Hiller 360. In 1946, Arthur Young of the Bell Aircraft company designed the Bell Model 47 helicopter, the first helicopter to have a full bubble canopy. Well-Known Helicopter Models Throughout History SH-60 SeahawkThe UH-60 Black Hawk was fielded by the Army in 1979. The Navy received the SH-60B Seahawk in 1983 and the SH-60F in 1988. HH-60G Pave HawkThe Pave Hawk is a highly-modified version of the Army Black Hawk helicopter and features an upgraded communication and navigation suite. The design includes an integrated inertial navigation/global positioning/Doppler navigation system, satellite communications, secure voice, and Have Quick frequency-hopping communications. CH-53E Super StallionThe Sikorsky CH-53E Super Stallion is the largest helicopter in the western world. CH-46D/E Sea KnightThe CH-46 Sea Knight was first procured in 1964. AH-64D Longbow ApacheThe AH-64D Longbow Apache is the most advanced, versatile, survivable, deployable, and maintainable multi-role combat helicopter in the world. Paul E. Williams  (U.S. patent #3,065,933)On November 26, 1962, African-American inventor Paul E. Williams patented a helicopter named the Lockheed Model 186 (XH-51). It was a compound experimental  helicopter,  and only 3 units were built.