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1941 - Igor Sikorsky accomplished the first successful helicopter liftoff, in Stratford, Connecticut.
On this day First helicopter liftoff
- Thread starter John A Silkstone
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Sikorsky's VS-300 first flew on May 13, 1940.
The Fw 61, a true helicopter with counter-rotating blades on outriggers on each side of the fuselage first flew June 26, 1936. Derived from this aircraft, the Fa 223 completed 100 hours of ground tethered flight testing and flew free on August 3, 1940. One month later it set a helicopter speed record of 113 mph, a rate of climb record of 1732 feet per minute and an altitude record of 23, 294 feet. An Fa 223 E-0, on June 21, 1943 lifted an Me-109 fuselage, then a 1 ton engine, then a VW Kubelwagon.
The first aircraft recovery operation occurred on May 11, 1944 when an Fa 223 crashed trying to recover a downed Do 217. A second Fa 223 recovered both downed aircraft bringing them in pieces to a road where they could be loaded on trucks.
In September 1944, two Fa 223's assigned to the Mountain Warfare School at Innsbruck flew 83 missions on 29 of 30 days, grounded by fog on one day. They made 17 landings on sites that were 4500 feet or more ASL, including three on the Dresdener Hutte, 7600 feet high.
The Flettner Fl 265, a single place helicopter with two counter-rotating intermeshing blades first flew in May 1939. It had an in-ground-effect sling load capability of 40 percent above its gross take-off weight and could carry 386 pounds out of ground effect with a 150 HP engine.
An improvement, the Fl 282 was manufactured on the world's first helicopter assembly line starting July, 1940.
Info from "Airpower" magazine, March, 1990, a lot of pictures with the article.
Regards,
Rotorwash
The Fw 61, a true helicopter with counter-rotating blades on outriggers on each side of the fuselage first flew June 26, 1936. Derived from this aircraft, the Fa 223 completed 100 hours of ground tethered flight testing and flew free on August 3, 1940. One month later it set a helicopter speed record of 113 mph, a rate of climb record of 1732 feet per minute and an altitude record of 23, 294 feet. An Fa 223 E-0, on June 21, 1943 lifted an Me-109 fuselage, then a 1 ton engine, then a VW Kubelwagon.
The first aircraft recovery operation occurred on May 11, 1944 when an Fa 223 crashed trying to recover a downed Do 217. A second Fa 223 recovered both downed aircraft bringing them in pieces to a road where they could be loaded on trucks.
In September 1944, two Fa 223's assigned to the Mountain Warfare School at Innsbruck flew 83 missions on 29 of 30 days, grounded by fog on one day. They made 17 landings on sites that were 4500 feet or more ASL, including three on the Dresdener Hutte, 7600 feet high.
The Flettner Fl 265, a single place helicopter with two counter-rotating intermeshing blades first flew in May 1939. It had an in-ground-effect sling load capability of 40 percent above its gross take-off weight and could carry 386 pounds out of ground effect with a 150 HP engine.
An improvement, the Fl 282 was manufactured on the world's first helicopter assembly line starting July, 1940.
Info from "Airpower" magazine, March, 1990, a lot of pictures with the article.
Regards,
Rotorwash
