Imer Bauta
History 9
03/05/03
The Helicopter
The helicopter is a very complicated form of transportation. First of all, the
helicopter became the helicopter in a complicated way. The first person who
ever had something to do with the origination of the helicopter was a famous
painter in the fifteenth century. His name was Leonardo Da Vinci. Leonardo Da
Vinci was one of the smartest people in the world at that time. He was the
first person to design a workable parachute and the ornithopter, but he also
designed a ?special flying machine?. This ?special flying machine? had a large
screw shaped propeller, and under it was the devise that held the people fling
it. Da Vinci hoped that the propeller would go into the air and lift the
machine. He called theirs machine the helixpteron, which is a mix of the greek
words helix and pteron. Helix mean spiral and pteron means wing.
Nobody paid any attention to Da Vinci?s idea until two hundred and fifty years
later. The men who paid attention to his ideas were French scientist Launoy and
Bienvenu. Launoy and Bienvenu discovered a Chinese flying top toy in 1783,
which was made up of items such as feather, wood, and string. The toy reminded
them of the helicopter, so they started to speak about the helicopter and it
brought back the idea of the helicopter. After this many men tried to make
helicopters. Many men did make helicopters, but the bad part was that they
couldn?t fly. The first thing that flew after the Wright brothers airplane, was
20 years later, when a Spanish engineer named Juan de la Cierva developed a
machine called an ?autogiro,? which was similar to a fixed aircraft with wings
and a propeller. This ?autogiro? also had rotating wings like the helicopter,
but it did not hover like the helicopter did.
Many years after that, people were able to make helicopters that flew for a
short amount of time, but nobody?s helicopter stood in the air for a successful
amount of time, until the Russian born American airplane manufacturer, Igor I.
Sikorsky perfected the single rotor helicopter, which is commonly used in
today?s world. He built a helicopter 1910 and took his first flight in 1940.
His helicopter was similar to the airplane in that it needs a powerful,
lightweight engine for it to fly. Also, like the airplane, the helicopter was
very important in WWII. Air transportation was very crucial because that was
the only way to get around with missiles flying every where. Then, during World
War II, in 1943 the first coaxial helicopter was built. The name coaxial was
made because one engine was built to turn both rotors. This coaxial helicopter
was built by the young boy with the name of Stanley Hiller Jr. who was only 18
years old when he was finished making it.
Helicopters are flown in a certain way and if they are not flown right on
target, they will crash. To crash in a helicopter is very dangerous because
nothing will stop you and if the engine loses control, the helicopter will not
stop and hit the ground very hard. The helicopter flies precisely only if
instructions are followed, and if the helicopter is built the right way.
Rotor blades that are placed over the helicopter lift and pull it up to fly.
The rotor blades are powered by and engine and hold the helicopter in place. At
the same time they move it around. This happens because while the rotor blades
are in the air moving, the shapes of the blades make the air pressure very
great, which causes an upward push. The blades of the helicopter are the same
as the airplanes wings, except that the helicopters blades rotate. The way the
helicopter can move up and down in a hover action is because it can stay still
while the rotor blades are moving, which gives the helicopter upward lifts and
downward pulls. The way that the lifts, and pulls of the helicopter are stopped
are because of the pitch.
The pitch is an angle of blades which are moved to direct the path of a
helicopter. If the wings move through the air at a much larger angle, then the
lift will be greater. To control the pitch two controls are needed. The two
names of these controls are the collective stick and the cycling stick. The
collective stick which is usually at the pilots side, changes the pitch of the
blades at once and then the collective stick increases and decrease the pitch,
causing the helicopter to go up or down. On the other hand, the cycling stick
is in front of the pilot and it functions when the pilot moves the stick. When
the pilot move the stick in the direction he wants to, it takes him there. The
helicopter sounds really easy to fly but it is very complex. If a person learns
to fly a helicopter he will never forget because once you get the basics down
you wont forget them.
The helicopter has come a long way from the date of 1400?s until present time.
The helicopter doesn?t fly for any reason. It has uses which are important in
every day life. Even though the helicopter can?t fly as fast as airplanes,
airplanes cannot do the same jobs airplanes can do. The helicopters these days
are always being used for some kind of commercial or military use. Militaries
find it more convenient to fly helicopters rather than airplanes because
helicopters can move in ways airplanes can?t, and it is easier to get from
place to place. They don?t travel that fast, but they can still hold a lot of
cargo. Another plus is that helicopters don?t need huge airports to land on.
There are many rescue helicopters which are used to save people who get stuck
in natural disasters. Helicopters have saved many peoples lives throughout the
years including many who have been stuck in floods and fires. Helicopters stay
in the sky and help save people in the water. Helicopters are useful in the
U.S. in the business world, where people have to get from one crowded area to
another. The only thing they need is a helicopter that will give you door to
door service. Many helicopters in the U.S. are used in the armed services.
Armed services use helicopters to carry troops and supplies which is why
missiles are placed on them so that during war, if war ever happens, helicopters
could be protected.
The helicopter has indeed been a great invention and aid in the development of
our world and our world wouldn?t be the same without them. Helicopters
sometimes protect us during wars and took us places we wanted to go. Countries
without helicopters would be behind in today?s society because I believe that
the helicopter will become the new source of transportation in a few years. The
helicopter rose from a little idea and will become the daily way of
transportation in the future. The helicopter will fly until it dies. And no, it
will never die because it is ?The Helicopter.?