Categories: History

A Brief History of Helicopters

While helicopters are a fairly recent invention, their origins date back thousands of years. Children’s toys in China during the fifth century BC had feathers at the end of a stick, which resemble a modern helicopter’s rotors.

Other drawings and conceptions of helicopter-like machines were produced by Leonardo da Vinci in the 15th century, and Thomas Edison in the late 19th century. If, like Edison, a machine was actually created, it never left the ground or, once airborne, was impossible to control.

As the 20th century dawned, the recent invention of the turbine engine marked a large turning point in helicopter history, as inventors now had a device which was strong enough to propel and control a sizable helicopter.

Bit by bit, early helicopter-like machines began to gain stability, control, and power. Advances were being made world-wide, in Russia, Argentina, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

In 1935, Elton Whitney conceived of what would come to be known as the first modern helicopter. Igor Sikorsky produced his first helicopter in 1939, and Stanley Hiller Jr. produced the first helicopter with all-metal rotors in 1944.

This era — the late 1930s through the mid-1950s — was a pioneering heydey for the advancement of helicopters. Men who would found their own companies — like Hiller, Piasecki, McDonnel, Douglas, and Sikorsky — were refining the helicopter’s specifications. Each round of revisions made helicopters faster, able to go longer distances, and carry heavier loads.

Safety was also addressed during this time. While earlier experimental helicopters had little or no safety features, now helicopters featured the ability to “autorotate” as a way of keeping a helicopter safely airborne in the event power was lost.
The helicopter’s increasing reliability and safety record meant that its use increased. While some early helicopters served in World War II, they were far more prevalent during the Korean War and Vietnam War. Both the H-21 transport helicopter (made by Boeing) and the UH-1 Huey (made by Bell) were staples of the Vietnam War era.

While the military became a steady customer, civilians, too, were finding many uses for helicopters. Law enforcement began using helicopters extensively in the 1970s, and search-and-rescue missions — whether initiated by military, law enforcement, or a combination — also made extensive use of helicopters.

In the 1980s and 1990s, private, media, and business use of helicopters became a significant part of the market, produced by companies such as Robinson and Enstrom.

Today, helicopters are used to fight crime, rescue stranded hikers and sailors, provide late-breaking news coverage, and ensure the country’s security.

As for the future, who knows? With increasing traffic congestion, the availability of personal helicopter technology, and decreasing helicopter purchase costs, could personal helicopters be far behind? Will homes 100 years from now need a helipad more than a garage? That answer lies with a new generation of pioneers who will take over where Hiller, Sikorsky, Whitney, and Piasecki left off.