The History of Helicopters

Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky, who was born in Kiev, is credited with creating the first successful helicopter in 1939. With a background in engineering and design, he became fascinated with flight and began building airplanes, eventually settling in the U.S. on Long Island in order to do so. Previous attempts to build a helicopter had been made, but none of the results were viable. Sikorsky had long been interested in solving the helicopter problem and even patented some of his ideas. In 1939, he completed and successfully piloted the VS-300, the United States’ first successful helicopter. By 1940, Sikorsky’s design had become the model for all single-rotor helicopters. Notably, it used a tail rotor to provide thrust in the opposite direction of the torque created by the top rotor, resulting in a relatively light craft that was far easier to control than previous, unsuccessful models. With the outbreak of World War II, military contracts furthered the development of helicopters, beginning with the XR-4. By the end of the conflict, the U.S. Army had purchased over 400 Sikorsky helicopters. Further helicopter improvements continued throughout the 1900s and many aviation firms continue to develop and manufacture helicopters today. The Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation still operates as a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation and is considered the oldest helicopter manufacturer in the world. Today, helicopters are widely used for transportation, tourism, rescue missions, scientific excursions, and for military purposes.