Flying
- Trivia
1.
It’s all Greek to me
The word ‘helicopter’ derives from the Greek ‘helix’ meaning ‘spiral’,
and ‘pteron’ meaning ‘wing’.
2.
Although it could be Chinese
Leonardo Da Vinci was not, in fact, the first person to think of
a rotor-powered flying machine. An unknown Chinese person invented
one sometime before it was first mentioned in Chinese texts in 320aD.
3.
Or French
Frenchman Paul Cornu built the first successful manned helicopter.
In 1907, he managed to get his machine to raise two metres off
the ground and stay there for all of 20 seconds.
4.
Or Russian even
The first mass-produced single-rotor helicopter was the Sikorsky
VS-300. Its prototype was built and flown in 1939 by Igor Sikorsky,
a Russian engineer naturalised in the United States.
5.
Into battle
The Sikorsky VS-300 was also the first helicopter to be used in
battle. British and American forces deployed it during the Second
World War.
6.
All singing, all dancing
The allied forces found it of great use as it could fly at far
lower altitudes than conventional fighter planes, and was far
better at turning corners at speed. It can also take on people
and cargo without having to land first.
7.
One rotor or two?
These days there are two main types of helicopter:
- The
single-rotor, which has one main rotor above its body, and a
smaller rotor on its tail.
- a
twin-rotor helicopter, which has two main rotors above the body.
8.
Kings of the sea
The helicopter used by the RaF for the purposes of search and rescue
is the Sea King. The distinctive yellow and black ‘flying banana’
can carry four crew and up to eighteen passengers, reach 143mph
at sea level, and has a radius of action of 280 miles.
9.
Our boys on Anglesey
The search and rescue team featured in the ‘Punch The Clock’ series
are based at RaF Valley on Anglesey. They form the 22 Squadron C
Flight.
10.
and there’s more ...
There are six other search and rescue bases around Britain, with
a total of 15 Sea Kings in operation between them.
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