Although fixed-wing aircraft receive all the attention by most historians, helicopter flight was the first flight
envisioned by man. The ancient Chinese played with a hand-spun toy that rose upward when revolved rapidly.
The word "Helicopter" is derived from the Greek term "helix" (spiral) and "pteron" (wing).
This form of aircraft engaged the earliest attentions of one of the great figures in the dawn of flight, Leonardo
da Vinci. In 1490 Leonardo da Vinci was the first to put down on paper a design for a man powered spiral
winged device that resembled the modern helicopter. The explanation for his keen interest is simple. For ages
man has wished not merely to fly but to be able to lift himself vertically from the earth and set himself down
again without forward run; and this is exactly what a helicopter, with the power-driven rotor or rotors which
stamp it as a member of the "rotary-wing" family of aircraft, enables him to do.
Even before the Wright Brothers flew the world's first airplane, Igor Sikorsky was building a coaxial helicopter in
Russia. There are many famous names in coaxial helicopters: Cornu, Asboth, Pescara, De Bothezat, Berliner,
Bendix, Hiller and others. Coaxial designs are attractive for their basic simplicity. The power train is short and
the airframe can take many shapes. Counter-rotation eliminates feeding torque into the airframe. In hovering
flight the lift force is only vertical, there is no tail rotor producing a side force requiring constant pilot intervention.
In the early helicopter period many extraordinary models were developed by an ever increasing number of
great thinkers, but all the pioneers were missing two essentials: a true understanding of the nature of lift and
an adequate motor. The breakthrough came at the end of the nineteenth century. The invention of the internal
combustion engine made it possible to develop full-sized models with an adequate power source. Then the
first of many problems arose: torque, the effect produced by the rotor to force the fuselage to rotate in the
opposite direction as the engine. Dissymmetry of lift, the action that tended to cause the early single-rotor
helicopters to flip over when translating from hovering to forward flight, confounded early pioneers until the
introduction of independent freedom of blade motions made possible by the invention of the swashplate. The
swashplate provides a means of varying the pitch of the blades in a cyclic fashion as they rotate around the
central shaft. The provision of cyclic pitch control allowed the lift to be equalized on each side of the shaft and
eliminate the tendency of the helicopter to tip over sideways. There were many other problems to be worked
out.
Then on November 13, 1907, the French pioneer Paul Cornu lifted a twin-rotor helicopter into the air entirely
without assistance from the ground for a few seconds. In the early 1900's Henry Berliner created the first
powered rotor craft that successfully made a controlled flight. Berliner's helicopter only traveled about 100
yards at an altitude of about 15 feet, but the flight was successfully controlled by a pilot. Later, the invention of
the hinged rotor blade, by Juan de la Cierva, coupled with the incorporation of a swashplate, laid out the basis
for the eventual development of the helicopter as a practical form of air-transport.
It was not until Sikorsky came along that the first practical helicopter, the single rotor VS-300, came into
existence. The VS-300 was first flown on 14 September 1939 with Sikorsky himself as the test pilot. The
original VS-300 was powered by a 75 HP engine. The aircraft's body was nothing more than an open cockpit
with a welded steel tubing frame. Later versions acquired a frame covering and finally a covered cockpit. On its
first flight the VS-300 was tethered to concrete blocks, the first untethered flight was performed on 13 May
1940. Although the VS-300 could ascend vertically and could also fly sideways and to the rear, it could not fly
safely forward.
Sikorsky continued to perfect and redesign the aircraft and on May 6, 1941 he set a new world helicopter
endurance record by flying the VS-300 for 1 hour, 32 minutes and 26 seconds. On December 8, 1941, the
VS-300 was flown in its final modern configuration; it had a single lifting rotor with a cyclic-pitch control for roll
and pitch and also included a single tail rotor for use in both directional control and anti-torque. In May of 1942,
Sikorsky made the first cross-country helicopter flight from Stratford, Connecticut to Dayton, Ohio, a distance of
about 761 miles.
There are four principal helicopter designs which have been developed and produced in the United States: the
most common is the tail rotor design, more popularly known as the single rotor design, which has one main
rotor and a small tail rotor; the tandem rotor design, which has two rotors, one in the front and one in the rear of
the aircraft; the syncropter design which has two intermeshing rotors, one located on each side of the aircraft;
and the coaxial design which has two rotors mounted one above the other on a single axis and rotating in
opposite directions. The single main rotor and a small anti-torque rotor dominate modern helicopter design
through today.
Gyrodyne Company of America, Inc. engaged extensively in the design, development, testing, and production of
coaxial helicopters starting in the late 1940s. From the mid-fifties to the early seventies, Gyrodyne
manufactured and sold approximately 800 coaxial helicopters. The Gyrodyne designs varied in size and
complexity and ranged from its first small one-man helicopter, dubbed Rotorcycle, through its remotely piloted
models QH-50A through QH-50D turbine-powered target and utility platforms. Gyrodyne ceased development
on coaxial designs in the mid 1970s due to financial difficulties and government cutbacks. Gyrodyne ushered
in numerous technological milestones including the world's first successful coaxial flight test, first
convert-a-plane, first free drone helicopter flight, and first fully composite rotor blade. Since that time most
focus in coaxial design has been concentrated primarily in the UAV military arena.
Other designs such as the Bensen Little Zipster of the 1950's employed coaxial, counter-rotating rotors and
employed a tilting rotor head. Due to complexity, difficulty of learning to pilot and cost and regulation, the
helicopter has never reached a mass consumer market although futurists have predicted from time to time
that it will become a mass market product.
envisioned by man. The ancient Chinese played with a hand-spun toy that rose upward when revolved rapidly.
The word "Helicopter" is derived from the Greek term "helix" (spiral) and "pteron" (wing).
This form of aircraft engaged the earliest attentions of one of the great figures in the dawn of flight, Leonardo
da Vinci. In 1490 Leonardo da Vinci was the first to put down on paper a design for a man powered spiral
winged device that resembled the modern helicopter. The explanation for his keen interest is simple. For ages
man has wished not merely to fly but to be able to lift himself vertically from the earth and set himself down
again without forward run; and this is exactly what a helicopter, with the power-driven rotor or rotors which
stamp it as a member of the "rotary-wing" family of aircraft, enables him to do.
Even before the Wright Brothers flew the world's first airplane, Igor Sikorsky was building a coaxial helicopter in
Russia. There are many famous names in coaxial helicopters: Cornu, Asboth, Pescara, De Bothezat, Berliner,
Bendix, Hiller and others. Coaxial designs are attractive for their basic simplicity. The power train is short and
the airframe can take many shapes. Counter-rotation eliminates feeding torque into the airframe. In hovering
flight the lift force is only vertical, there is no tail rotor producing a side force requiring constant pilot intervention.
In the early helicopter period many extraordinary models were developed by an ever increasing number of
great thinkers, but all the pioneers were missing two essentials: a true understanding of the nature of lift and
an adequate motor. The breakthrough came at the end of the nineteenth century. The invention of the internal
combustion engine made it possible to develop full-sized models with an adequate power source. Then the
first of many problems arose: torque, the effect produced by the rotor to force the fuselage to rotate in the
opposite direction as the engine. Dissymmetry of lift, the action that tended to cause the early single-rotor
helicopters to flip over when translating from hovering to forward flight, confounded early pioneers until the
introduction of independent freedom of blade motions made possible by the invention of the swashplate. The
swashplate provides a means of varying the pitch of the blades in a cyclic fashion as they rotate around the
central shaft. The provision of cyclic pitch control allowed the lift to be equalized on each side of the shaft and
eliminate the tendency of the helicopter to tip over sideways. There were many other problems to be worked
out.
Then on November 13, 1907, the French pioneer Paul Cornu lifted a twin-rotor helicopter into the air entirely
without assistance from the ground for a few seconds. In the early 1900's Henry Berliner created the first
powered rotor craft that successfully made a controlled flight. Berliner's helicopter only traveled about 100
yards at an altitude of about 15 feet, but the flight was successfully controlled by a pilot. Later, the invention of
the hinged rotor blade, by Juan de la Cierva, coupled with the incorporation of a swashplate, laid out the basis
for the eventual development of the helicopter as a practical form of air-transport.
It was not until Sikorsky came along that the first practical helicopter, the single rotor VS-300, came into
existence. The VS-300 was first flown on 14 September 1939 with Sikorsky himself as the test pilot. The
original VS-300 was powered by a 75 HP engine. The aircraft's body was nothing more than an open cockpit
with a welded steel tubing frame. Later versions acquired a frame covering and finally a covered cockpit. On its
first flight the VS-300 was tethered to concrete blocks, the first untethered flight was performed on 13 May
1940. Although the VS-300 could ascend vertically and could also fly sideways and to the rear, it could not fly
safely forward.
Sikorsky continued to perfect and redesign the aircraft and on May 6, 1941 he set a new world helicopter
endurance record by flying the VS-300 for 1 hour, 32 minutes and 26 seconds. On December 8, 1941, the
VS-300 was flown in its final modern configuration; it had a single lifting rotor with a cyclic-pitch control for roll
and pitch and also included a single tail rotor for use in both directional control and anti-torque. In May of 1942,
Sikorsky made the first cross-country helicopter flight from Stratford, Connecticut to Dayton, Ohio, a distance of
about 761 miles.
There are four principal helicopter designs which have been developed and produced in the United States: the
most common is the tail rotor design, more popularly known as the single rotor design, which has one main
rotor and a small tail rotor; the tandem rotor design, which has two rotors, one in the front and one in the rear of
the aircraft; the syncropter design which has two intermeshing rotors, one located on each side of the aircraft;
and the coaxial design which has two rotors mounted one above the other on a single axis and rotating in
opposite directions. The single main rotor and a small anti-torque rotor dominate modern helicopter design
through today.
Gyrodyne Company of America, Inc. engaged extensively in the design, development, testing, and production of
coaxial helicopters starting in the late 1940s. From the mid-fifties to the early seventies, Gyrodyne
manufactured and sold approximately 800 coaxial helicopters. The Gyrodyne designs varied in size and
complexity and ranged from its first small one-man helicopter, dubbed Rotorcycle, through its remotely piloted
models QH-50A through QH-50D turbine-powered target and utility platforms. Gyrodyne ceased development
on coaxial designs in the mid 1970s due to financial difficulties and government cutbacks. Gyrodyne ushered
in numerous technological milestones including the world's first successful coaxial flight test, first
convert-a-plane, first free drone helicopter flight, and first fully composite rotor blade. Since that time most
focus in coaxial design has been concentrated primarily in the UAV military arena.
Other designs such as the Bensen Little Zipster of the 1950's employed coaxial, counter-rotating rotors and
employed a tilting rotor head. Due to complexity, difficulty of learning to pilot and cost and regulation, the
helicopter has never reached a mass consumer market although futurists have predicted from time to time
that it will become a mass market product.
Aircraft Owner's and Pilots Association (AOPA) Panel Plan Attorney ____________ Pilot in Command (PIC) of Gliders: Grob 103 High Wing Aircraft : Cessna 152, Cessna 172, 172 SP, 172 XP, Low Wing Aircraft : Piper Warrior Bi-Plane: WACO YMF, WACO UPF-17, Boeing Stearman PT-17 Warbirds: T-6 Texan (SJN) Rotary Aircraft : Robinson R22 Helicopter |
| Robinson R22 Helicopter Flight Training The Cliff Walk - Newport, Rhode Island |
INVITED GUEST SPEAKER
(Leyes Relativas a la Operacion Aeronautica en Estados Unidos, sus Responsabilidades y Derechos) "Aviation Negligence: A
Discussion on the Civil & Criminal Aspects of U.S. Aviation Law," Latin American Aeronautical Association (Asociacion
Latinoamericana de Aeronautica ALA), ALA MIAMI 99, Radisson Deauville Resort, Miami Beach, Florida, July 1999.
The Ninety-Nines/International Organization for Women Pilots, "Pilot Negligence and Accident Prevention" North County Airport,
West Palm Beach, Florida. February 1998
Palm Beach County Chapter Florida Legal Assistants, Inc., An Affiliate of the National Association of Legal Assistants, Inc.,
"Terror in the Skies: Aviation Negligence" CLER approved. Colony Hotel, West Palm Beach, Florida. June 1998
Boca Raton Pilot's Association, "Aviation Law - Pilot Negligence and Recoverable Damages" Sugar Sand Park - Auditorium, Boca
Raton, Florida. November 1998
(Leyes Relativas a la Operacion Aeronautica en Estados Unidos, sus Responsabilidades y Derechos) "Aviation Negligence: A
Discussion on the Civil & Criminal Aspects of U.S. Aviation Law," Latin American Aeronautical Association (Asociacion
Latinoamericana de Aeronautica ALA), ALA MIAMI 99, Radisson Deauville Resort, Miami Beach, Florida, July 1999.
The Ninety-Nines/International Organization for Women Pilots, "Pilot Negligence and Accident Prevention" North County Airport,
West Palm Beach, Florida. February 1998
Palm Beach County Chapter Florida Legal Assistants, Inc., An Affiliate of the National Association of Legal Assistants, Inc.,
"Terror in the Skies: Aviation Negligence" CLER approved. Colony Hotel, West Palm Beach, Florida. June 1998
Boca Raton Pilot's Association, "Aviation Law - Pilot Negligence and Recoverable Damages" Sugar Sand Park - Auditorium, Boca
Raton, Florida. November 1998
| Alexander Penalta - Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Private Pilot - Single Engine Land (c.1990) Mid-America Aviation Cessna Pilot Training Center Topeka, Kansas - Forbes Air Force Base |
| Alexander Penalta Flight Training in the Grob 103 Glider |
In China, kites rather than gliders were used for military reconnaissance. However the Extensive Records of
the Taiping Era (978) suggests that a true glider was designed in the 5th century BC by Lu Ban, a
contemporary of Confucius. There is also a report from the History of Northern Dynasties (659) and Zizhi
Tongjian (1084) that Yuan Huangtou in Ye made a successful glide, taking off from a tower in 559.
A "glider" is an unpowered aircraft. The most common types of glider are today used for sporting purposes.
The design of these types enables them to climb using rising air and then to glide for long distances before
finding the next source of lift. This has created the sport of gliding, or soaring. The term "sailplane" is
sometimes used for these types, implying a glider with a high soaring performance.
Although many gliders do not have engines, there are some that use engines occasionally. The
manufacturers of high-performance gliders now often list an optional engine and a retractable propeller that
can be used to sustain flight if required; these are known as 'self-sustaining' gliders. Some can even
launch themselves and are known as 'self-launching' gliders. There are also 'touring motor gliders', which
can switch off their engines in flight though without retracting their propellers. The term "pure glider" (or
equivalently, but less commonly "pure sailplane") may be used to distinguish a totally unpowered glider
from a motorized glider, without implying any differential in gliding or soaring performance.
Abbas Ibn Firnas invented the first weight shift aircraft ( hang glider) and is also claimed as the inventor of
the first manned glider in 875 by fixing feathers to a wooden frame fitted to his arms or back. Written
accounts at the time suggest that he made a ten minute flight. Abbas was seriously injured in the resulting
crash.
The first heavier-than-air (i.e. non-balloon) aircraft to be flown in Europe was Sir George Cayley's series of
gliders which achieved brief wing-borne hops from around 1804. Santos Dumont, Otto Lilienthal, Percy
Pilcher, John J. Montgomery, and the Wright Brothers are other pioneers who built gliders to develop
aviation. After the First World War gliders were built for sporting purposes in Germany (See link to
Rhön-Rossitten Gesellschaft) and in the United States (Schweizer brothers). The sporting use of gliders
rapidly evolved in the 1930s and is now the main application. As their performance improved gliders began
to be used to fly cross-country and now regularly fly hundreds or even thousands of kilometers in a day, if
the weather is suitable.
Military gliders were then developed by a number of countries, particularly during World War II, for landing
troops. A glider was even built secretly by POWs as a potential escape method at Oflag IV-C near the end of
the war in 1944. The space shuttle orbiters do not use their engines after re-entry at the end of each
spaceflight, and so land as gliders.
the Taiping Era (978) suggests that a true glider was designed in the 5th century BC by Lu Ban, a
contemporary of Confucius. There is also a report from the History of Northern Dynasties (659) and Zizhi
Tongjian (1084) that Yuan Huangtou in Ye made a successful glide, taking off from a tower in 559.
A "glider" is an unpowered aircraft. The most common types of glider are today used for sporting purposes.
The design of these types enables them to climb using rising air and then to glide for long distances before
finding the next source of lift. This has created the sport of gliding, or soaring. The term "sailplane" is
sometimes used for these types, implying a glider with a high soaring performance.
Although many gliders do not have engines, there are some that use engines occasionally. The
manufacturers of high-performance gliders now often list an optional engine and a retractable propeller that
can be used to sustain flight if required; these are known as 'self-sustaining' gliders. Some can even
launch themselves and are known as 'self-launching' gliders. There are also 'touring motor gliders', which
can switch off their engines in flight though without retracting their propellers. The term "pure glider" (or
equivalently, but less commonly "pure sailplane") may be used to distinguish a totally unpowered glider
from a motorized glider, without implying any differential in gliding or soaring performance.
Abbas Ibn Firnas invented the first weight shift aircraft ( hang glider) and is also claimed as the inventor of
the first manned glider in 875 by fixing feathers to a wooden frame fitted to his arms or back. Written
accounts at the time suggest that he made a ten minute flight. Abbas was seriously injured in the resulting
crash.
The first heavier-than-air (i.e. non-balloon) aircraft to be flown in Europe was Sir George Cayley's series of
gliders which achieved brief wing-borne hops from around 1804. Santos Dumont, Otto Lilienthal, Percy
Pilcher, John J. Montgomery, and the Wright Brothers are other pioneers who built gliders to develop
aviation. After the First World War gliders were built for sporting purposes in Germany (See link to
Rhön-Rossitten Gesellschaft) and in the United States (Schweizer brothers). The sporting use of gliders
rapidly evolved in the 1930s and is now the main application. As their performance improved gliders began
to be used to fly cross-country and now regularly fly hundreds or even thousands of kilometers in a day, if
the weather is suitable.
Military gliders were then developed by a number of countries, particularly during World War II, for landing
troops. A glider was even built secretly by POWs as a potential escape method at Oflag IV-C near the end of
the war in 1944. The space shuttle orbiters do not use their engines after re-entry at the end of each
spaceflight, and so land as gliders.
| AVIATION Rotorcraft |
| Gliders |
| Bell Jet Ranger III |
| Lighter Than Air - Hot Air Balloons |
| Aviation (Continued - Click Here) |
| Penalta & Stiger P.A. An American Law Firm Trial Lawyers and Counselors at Law 595 South Federal Highway, Suite 600 Boca Raton, Florida 33432 Telephone (561) 955-9970 |
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Aviation - Helicopters - Gliders - Air Balloons