The helicopter was not born overnight, from the mind of a single great genius. This flying machine was being developed little by little. Centuries passed between the discovery of the principle of helicopter flight – the use of a horizontal propeller that rotates to sustain the device in the air – and the construction of the first prototypes capable of actually leaving the ground. This long history began in China in the 4th century, with the participation of famous geniuses, such as Leonardo da Vinci, but it only took off after the Industrial Revolution, in the 19th century, when a technology capable of transforming secular projects into reality finally appeared. It was only from then on that some of the “great-grandfathers” of modern helicopters managed to risk a few flights – and even so with a few centimeters high and seconds long. For early 20th-century prototypes to finally take off, a decisive push was still needed, and that push came from military interest in the project. The two great world wars of the first half of the century led governments to invest in the development of aircraft. However, it was not until the Korean War in the early 1950s that helicopters finally showed their full potential. From then on, they began to be produced in large numbers, including for civilian use. In the timeline below, you can see the main chapters of this story full of scales.
At the bookshop:
Helicopter Aerodynamics – Boanerges Vieira & Antônio Carlos Serapião, Editora Rio, 2003
Helicopters Before Helicopters – EK Liberatore, Krieger Publishing Company, 1998
On the Internet:
https://www.helis.com/introduction/prin.php
From the first machine concepts to the pioneering prototypes, 16 centuries have passed
4th centuries – Chinese toy
The first historical record of the principle of helicopter flight appears in a Chinese book of the period. The book describes a wooden “flying car” equipped with an original mechanism: oxhide strips attached to a rotating blade, whose movement made the car leave the ground. It was probably just the design of a toy
1490 – Genius idea
The brilliant Italian artist and inventor Leonardo da Vinci designs the “Helicoidal Air Screw”, which is considered the first attempt to build a real helicopter. Leonardo da Vinci envisioned a machine made of wood and starched linen, but his design was never put into practice. There was a lack of adequate technology to assemble it at the time.
1843 – Time to get off the ground
It is only with the technological advancement brought by the Industrial Revolution that it becomes possible to make the first prototype of a helicopter. It is developed by the British George Cayley, who even carried out practical tests with the contraption. Moved by a spring-like system, the prototype was too heavy and lacked the power to sustain flight.
1907 – Historic centimeters
French brothers Louis and Jacques Bréguet rise about 5 centimeters from the ground aboard a new prototype helicopter. In the same year, another Frenchman, Paul Cornu, goes further: he flies for 20 seconds 30 centimeters from the ground. Cornu’s machine was a rotary wing airplane
1914 – Military incentive
During the First War, the Germans Von Karman and Petrosczy and the Hungarian Asboth set up a flying device to replace the military observation balloons. The PKZ-2 had two superimposed horizontal propellers, but it failed due to technical problems. In the last years of the war, however, there were several advances in the production of parts and engines
1918 – Half plane
Spaniard Juan de la Cierva creates the Autogiro, a mixture of helicopter and plane: it had wings and a large rotating propeller over the cabin. The device came to be used by the British at the end of the First War. But the Autogiro didn’t take off or land vertically — it only moved forward — so it can’t really be considered a helicopter.
1938 – Russian pioneer
The US government funds Igor Sikorsky — a Russian inventor who fled the Communist Revolution (1917) — to develop a viable model of rotary-wing aircraft. He creates the VS-300, the first functional helicopter. Sikorsky devices would participate in reconnaissance and rescue operations at the end of World War II (1939-1945)
1950 – Ready for war
It was only in that decade that the first commercial models for passenger transport appeared — also launched by Igor Sikorsky. In the Korean War (1950-1953), the helicopter became widely used in rescues and transporting troops. But it was only during the Vietnam War (1964-1975) that models armed with machine guns and missiles, such as the American Bell 209 Cobra, were successful.