Helicopter Facts & Info

The Start


Alright, so the the first ever piloted helicopter was invented by a guy named Paul Cornu in 1907, but it was not successful. Then a French man named Etienne Oehmichen designed and flew a helicopter 1 kilometer into a fast descent in 1924. Now Igor Sikorsky also called the "Father of Helicopters" was the first person to design, build, and successfully fly a Helicopter, which other Helicopters are based on. Aviation's best designer, Igor Sikorsky,Russian born started work on helicopters early as as 1910. In 1940, Igor Sikorsky's successful VS-300 had become the model for all modern single-rotor helicopters. Sikorsky also designed and built the first military helicopter, the XR-4, which he gave to Colonel Franklin Gregory of the U.S. Army.

Helicopters Engines ( piston & turbine )


Helicopter engines are kind of like car engines. They have the same job as a car engine, except instead of turning the wheels it turns the main and tail rotors. So first off you have piston engine Helicopters. A piston engine Helicopter is a Helicopter that has a piston engine which is the type you have in your car, it takes gasoline and pretty much works just about the same. One thing that is different is instead of in your car where your engine turns your tires, a Helicopter engine turns the rotors.
Now we have the turbine engine. This is engine is also called a jet engine. This type of engine is know for its power and thrust. Turbine engines do not use regular gasoline, they use jet fuel. In most cases helicopters have turboshaft engines (another type of jet/turbine engine). For example the UH-1 Huey, the Bell Jet Ranger, and the AH-64 Apache all derive their power from gas-turbine engines. These turboshaft engines are pretty much jet engines that do not produce any thrust at all. Most of the helicopters in use today use gas-turbine engines. They are light, very powerful and economical. They are also very reliable as well. If you want a strong Helicopter to get the job done then a turbine powered Helicopter is what you need.