1st Helicopter Flight 80 years ago today

     I have a soft spot for helicopters after spending many hundreds of hours in them....from Vietnam to Birmingham, Alabama. That's where my first job at WERC Radio was traffic reporting from a small two-seater Hughes (Yes, as in Howard Hughes) chopper. (Last year I reconncted with one of the pilots---Harry Griffin---who has some great stories to share!)

Pilot Harry Griffin and I, early 1980's?

Today---September 14th----is the 80th Anniversary of the first helicopter that actually worked.

https://connecticuthistory.org/worlds-first-helicopter-today-in-history/

"On September 14, 1939, the VS-300, the world's first practical helicopter, took flight at Stratford, Connecticut. Designed by Igor Sikorsky and built by the Vought-Sikorsky Aircraft Division of the United Aircraft Corporation, the helicopter was the first to incorporate a single main rotor and tail rotor design."

The Solar System's first helicopter flight (unmanned) on another planet has been a huge success for NASA.

August 28, 2019

Engineers attached NASA's Mars Helicopter to the belly of the Mars 2020 rover on Aug. 27, 2019, at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
The twin-rotor, solar-powered helicopter was mechanically connected, along with the Mars Helicopter Delivery System, to a plate on the rover's belly that includes a cover to shield the helicopter from debris during entry, descent and landing. The helicopter will remain encapsulated after landing, deploying to the surface once a suitable area to conduct test flights is found at Jezero Crater, the rover's destination.

Credit

NASA/JPL-Caltech