22 Interesting and Fun Facts About Helicopters

Helicopters are one of the modern scientific marvels. Helicopters are used both in civilian and military operations. In the last couple of decades, helicopters are one of the major mediums of civil aviation. There are various types of helicopters. Helicopters usually fly at low altitudes than planes. NASA says that the helicopter is a type of aircraft that uses rotating, or spinning, wings called blades to fly.

On September 14, 1939, the first-ever helicopter flew into the sky. Igor Sikorsky developed the first successful helicopter, the VS-300. Starting from there are over 69,000 thousand helicopters around now. Airbus, AgustaWestland, Bell Helicopter, Sikorsky Helicopters are the major helicopter makers. Helicopters are mostly used for transportation purposes. There are also ambulance helicopters specialized for patient transportation. Different types of military helicopters perform different military duties. The commercial helicopter market is growing every year. The usage of the helicopter to cope with emergencies is increasing. Many police forces all over the world use helicopters to perform routine duties and capturing criminals.

Helicopters can fly instant. They have a less complex take of procedure than planes. Helicopters play an important role in all sorts of transportations. They are one of the major ways of fast traveling around the world. They are incredible flying machines. The increasing usage of helicopters made many people curious about them. These are some little known facts about helicopters.

The world the first helicopter was the VS-300. This history-making machine took flight at Stratford, Connecticut. Igor Sikorsky is known as the designer of the first practical helicopter. He flew his own machine for the first time.

The VS-300 had a three-blade rotor. The diameter of the rotor was 28 28-foot. It was considered the basis of all first production helicopters. Only one person could fly on it. The VS-300 is now displayed at the Henry Ford Museum.

Sikorsky Helicopter is the First helicopter manufacturer in the world. Igor Sikorsky founded Sikorsky Helicopter in 1925. Sikorsky Helicopter builds medium to heavy-lift helicopters.

Focke-Wulf Fw 61 is the first operational helicopter. Focke-Wulf used to make these helicopters. Focke-Wulf Fw 61 helicopters could fly at a maximum speed of 112 km/h. Two of these helicopters were built.

Mil V-12 is known as the largest helicopter ever built. The mega helicopter could carry 196 passengers. The Russian made Mil V-12 operated its first successful flight on 10 July 1968.

The GEN H-4 is considered the smallest helicopter in the World. This tiny one seated helicopter has a minimalistic appearance. It can fly up to a speed of 90 km/h for 30 minutes.

Sikorsky X2 is the fastest helicopter in the world. This superfast flying machine can fly at a top speed of 481 km/h. Only one Sikorsky X2 is built to date.

There are many Amphibious helicopters. These helicopters can take off and land both from water and land. The Vought-Sikorsky VS-300 is the first Amphibious helicopter ever.

Mil Mi-26 is the largest and most powerful helicopter that went into serial production. Mil Mi-26 was developed from the Mil V-12. The Mil V-12 never went to serial production.

Mil Mi-8 is the highest produced model of any helicopter. Production starting from 1961, 17,000 + units are built of the model. The Mil Mi-8 is used in transportation, as gunships, and for many other purposes. The helicopter is in service in over 50 countries.

The Merine One is the official helicopter Of the US President. The Merine One is any United States Marine Corps aircraft carrying US President. The fleet of helicopters that are used as transportation for the US President is known as the HMX-1. HMX-1 fleet consists of 35 helicopters of four different types.

The longest non-stop flight made with a helicopter was 2,213-miles long. The 54 years old record was set by Robert G. Ferry, with a prototype Hughes OH-6A. It took him a continuous 15 hours and 8 minutes of flying to set the record. The helicopter burned 1,850 pounds of fuel during the flight.

Stealth helicopters are specially built helicopter to decreased detectability of the helicopters. One or two stealth Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawks is believed to be used in Operation Neptune Spear.

Mil Mi-12 has a wingspan of 220 feet. It is the only helicopter to have a double-decker cockpit.

Didier Delsalle has the record of the highest altitude landing of a helicopter. On May 14, 2005, he landed on the 8,848 meters high summit of Mount Everest. He was flying a Eurocopter AS350 Squirrel.

Aérospatiale SA 315B Lama is known to fly at the highest altitude. The French-built Indian army helicopter Lama can cross an altitude of 6,000 meters.

Airbus Helicopters is the largest helicopter manufacturer in the world. The company was founded as the Eurocopter Group in 1992. By 2014, 12,000 helicopters made by the company were in service in 150 countries.

The First helicopter built by the Chinese was the Zhishengji-5. It was based on the Soviet Mil Mi-4.

The United States has the highest number of commercial helicopters in a country as of 2019. There are over 9,300 commercially operated helicopters in the US.

The Helicopter Museum of Weston is considered the biggest helicopter museum in the world. The 31 years old museum has 80 helicopters and autogyros from around the world, both civilian and military.

The CH-53K King Stallion is the most expensive helicopter ever built. This helicopter has a unit cost of $144 million per aircraft. The first CH-53K was delivered to the Marine Corps in May 2018.

The Airbus Helicopters H225 is the most expensive Business Helicopter with a unit price of $29 million. Only a little over 170 units of Airbus Helicopters H225 are built.

Helicopters are extraordinary pieces of modern engineering. They are fast and smooth. Helicopters are one of the most important parts of modern aviation. These are what we have on helicopters. Thanks for reading.