Once upon a time ...the gravity...

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< THE GREAT DATES OF HELICOPTER HISTORY >

 

 
 
PIONEERS

Presently the first track about rotary wings seems to originates in China four century before our era.

A book named "Pao Phu Tau" tells that the "Master" describes rotary wings machines (fei chhe) made with jujubier wood. The rotating blades are attached to a mast with thin leather straps (huan chien i yih chhi chi).

It is the oldest precursor of what we name today "helicopter". The concept was born there in terms of idea but our ancestors didn't have the technology and aerodynamic knowledge to build an effective flying machine.

 

EVOLUTION

Numerous inventions, often insignificant and anonymous, have come to the success of the rotary wing in the fifties. Those precursors generally suffered from two major drawbacks: weakness of materials and insufficient power plant.

 

1480 : Leonardo De Vinci 

De Vinci La vis à air

"Air screw" - First drawing - 

 

"...I discovered that a screw like this one, if it is well made, will climb in the air if it is rotated fast enough..." 
Leonardo De Vinci - Codice Atlantico - Contribution Agusta SpA

Frequently mentioned as the first serious attempt of a helicopter, this drawing of Leonardo de Vinci never came up. It was impossible at this age to fly up with a machine made of wood and cloth and above all powered by two men.

1754 :Lomonosov ( Russia )

He suggested a machine with coaxial rotors to make weather mesurements
1784 : Launoy / Bienvenu ( France ) 
 

1800 : George Caley 
 

1845 :  Cossus ( France )

A steam machine with a main rotor and two auxiliary rotors.


1861 : Bright

Used a balloon above the rotors


1880 : Thomas Edison 

The first attempt to electric helicopter. The machine was not powerful enough, but Edison was convinced in the importance of helicopters in the future.
1895 : De los Olivos 
A tandem rotor with wings.
At the end of the XIXth century, the motor invention with internal combustion made possible the development of machines powerful enough for vertical take off.

The pioneers discovered the flight control problems.

 

1906 : Crocco ( Italie ) 

He discovered the cyclic control of rotors


1907 : Breguet - Richet gyroplane ( France )
 

13 Nov. 1907 :Paul Cornu

In France, the machine of Paul Cornu was the first to take off with its pilot and then made a free flight. Stabilised by  wooden links thanks to ground assistants, this machine suffered from instability, chronic instability.
1911 : Boris Yuriev ( Russia ) 
Boris Yuriev un pionier isolé

abtomat perekosa ( collective pitch and automatic clutch ) the drawing with main rotor and tail rotor
 

1912 :Ellehammer( Danemark ) 
This machine powered by a star motor of 36 HP cooled by air was very advanced for the age, but because he was isolated his work was ignored and reinvented later on by others...
 


1922 : Geogrij de Bothezat ( URSS ) 

Build for the US Army Air Service
De Bothezat and James Rix
 
1924 : Brennan ( England ) 
 

1924 : Emile Berliner 
 

1924 : Pescara ( Argentina ) 

He worked out several machines between 1919 and 1925 in Spain and France. A coaxial helicopter weighting 850kg and flying at 13km/h was the first machine controlled in collective pitch and cyclic.


1924 : Etienne Oehmichen ( France ) 

The first kilometer in closed circuit : 7 minutes, 40 seconds
Historical time when Etienne Oehmichen took off in presence of the aviation minister.
Photo  Gunby Photo Archive
1928 : D'Ascanio ( Italy ) 
Maximal altitude for a helicopter : 18 m 
 
1928 : Hafner AR III / V ( Austria)
Autogiros evolved all the same during this time. However they could neither climb or descend vertically nor staying in hover.
 
1920/36 : Autogires Juan de la Cierva ( Spain )

The invention of articulated rotor head with flapping blades made possible the development of usable helicopters 
 
1929 : Kamov / Skrzhinskiif : Le KaSkr-I( URSS ) 
 

1929 :Pitcairn 
 

1930 : ZAGI 1A et le TsAGI , ( URSS ) 

The Aerodynamic and Hydrodynamic Central Institute was created in 1928 by G. H. Sabinin. The ZAGI 1A that took off in August 1930 had a fuselage in soldered tubes, a four bladed rotor driven by two 120HP motors vertically installed

Le ZAGI 1A is the first dual motor helicopter

1931 : L'autogire de Kuznetzov ( URSS ) 
 

1932 : Kay 
 

1932 : Flettner FL 265 ( Germany )
 

1933 : ZAGI 5EA ( URSS ) 

Its surprising machine with three blades of 10m widespan fixed rigidly to the rotor mast was assisted by three other blades of 7m widespan controlled in cyclic. Two additional auxiliary rotors located front and rear managed the stability. The results were unsuccessful and the complexity lead to give up the project.
1933 : Breguet - Dorand ( France )

Louis Breguet  carried on his effort to build a coaxial machine powered by the famous Wright motor of 420HP.

The 11th of September 1936 Louis Breguet reached the speed of 108km/h

1934 : Le gyroplane A-7 de Nikolai Kamov ( URSS ) 
 

1935 : Elton Whitney ( USA ) 
 

1936 : Weir W.3 ( England ) 
 

1938 :Le Page - Platt.

XR-1 ( 1941 / 1944 )


1939 : Weir W.6 

- First dual seats -  
 
1939 : Igor Sikorsky : le VS 300 (USA) 
The VS 300 of Igor Sikorsky was the first usable helicopter. It was built in small serie four years later (May 1943).
 

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Copyright 2000-2001 Jacques Boyer
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