Helicopter Pioneer

United Aircraft discontinued the Clippers, but the company funded Sikorsky’s effort to achieve his long-

"I have never been in the air in a machine that was as pleasant to fly as the helicopter. It is a dream to feel the machine lift you gently up in the air, float smoothly over one spot for indefinite periods, move up or down under good control, as well as move not only forward or backward but in any direction."

Igor Sikorsky

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held dream of building a helicopter. This time, that effort succeeded, with the help of new, lightweight materials and a staff of engineers.

On September 14, 1939, Sikorsky climbed into the first helicopter model, the VS-300. He always insisted on tak­ing the first flight of any completely new design. The helicopter worked— it rose vertically, hovered, and returned to land. The flying machine had a single rotor with three blades driven by a 75-horsepower engine. Sikorsky’s heli­copter was not the first to reach the air, but it was the first successful flight of a helicopter with a single rotor. Because most helicopters follow that design, Sikorsky is considered the leading pioneer of the helicopter industry.

The design needed improvement, however. Sikorsky tried another version with two small rotor blades in the rear. On May 13, 1940, that machine rose into the air, but was difficult to move for-

Подпись: О Sikorsky helicopters such as these are still produced today.

ward. The next model had just one smaller rotor blade in the rear. This ver­sion flew smoothly and on May 6, 1941, it set a record by staying aloft for more than an hour.