Today I’m teaching a short class on the History of the Helicopter: 400 BC to Modern Era at a Youth Aviation Club meeting. The group meets about twice a month and encourages young folks to learn about flying and how to make their dreams of soaring and zooming a reality.

Sikosky Helicopter, 1940s

I love aviation history! It’s kind of my history hobby to enjoy reading about and seeing old aircraft. (Check my June field trip for some fun airplane photos). So I enjoyed doing the research to put together a presentation for the club and even found some topics that would be great “long” research projects sometime in the future.

Anyway, here’s a few of the facts that I’ll be presenting:

• The Chinese used a very basic form of a helicopter  in 400 BC as children’s toys.
• Leonardo da Vinci actually drew plans for a “helicopter” type flying machine.  The problem: since his design was based around the principle of a screw, the entire aircraft was going to spin…like an amusement park ride. Yikes!
• During the Age of the Enlightenment (1700’s) Christian de Launoy  built a basic model using turkey feathers as rotor blades and demonstrated it in the French Academy of Sciences
• 1861: the word “helicopter” is used for the first time and steam powered models try to fly (unsuccessfully)
• 1870: coaxial helicopter toys are built for children (Wilbur and Orville Wright played with one)
• Thomas Edison tries to invent a vertical flying machine with an internal combustion engine (unsuccessfully)
• 1907: man flies in a helicopter about two feet off the ground!
• Not used in WWI
• In the 1920’s and 1930 the principles of vertical flight begin to be understood and flying models improve
• Not practical for use during WWII, but a few models were used for medical evacuations in remote areas
• Igor Sikosky builds successful helicopters in the United States.  The aircraft is adopted for the military and civilian usages
• 1951: the first turbine powered helicopter is developed
• Helicopters were used extensively in the Korean and Vietnam War
• Helicopters are still used today in varied jobs; with continued improvements they will probably remain part of the aviation world for a long time.

There you have it – a very brief synopsis of the presentation and some new aviation/historical facts to educate (or annoy) your friends.

Your Historian,

Miss Sarah

P.S. See you on Friday for the last post on the American War for Independence! And here’s the Nathanael Green and Benjamin Lincoln biographies, in case you missed the last couple weeks.