Aircrafttotal Encyclopedia

Helicopters

A helicopter is a rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors — from the Focke-Wulf Fw 61 and the Sikorsky R-4 to today's Black Hawk, Mi-8 and NH90.

50helicopters
4groups
1936–2016first flight
13countries

About helicopters

A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and sideways. Most helicopters have one main rotor and a small tail rotor against the torque; others have two rotors in tandem, side by side, intermeshing or on one mast (coaxial).

The first practical helicopter, the Focke-Wulf Fw 61, flew in 1936, and the Sikorsky R-4 of 1942 was the first helicopter built in series. With the light turbine engine of the 1950s helicopters became powerful and reliable: today they are used for transport, rescue, police and medical flights, offshore work, fire fighting and as attack helicopters.

FF 1936 European helicopters Focke-Wulf Fw 61 The first practical helicopter Focke-Wulf · Germany→
FF 1941 European helicopters Flettner Fl 282 Kolibri The first helicopter in series production Flettner · Germany→
SR 1942 American helicopters Sikorsky R-4 The world's first mass-produced helicopter Sikorsky · United States→
B4 1945 American helicopters Bell 47 The first helicopter certified for civil use Bell Helicopter · United States→
MM 1948 Russian & Soviet helicopters Mil Mi-1 The first Soviet series-built helicopter Mil · Soviet Union→
SH 1949 American helicopters Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaw Utility helicopter with the engine in the nose and the cabin under the rotor, used by many armed forces. Sikorsky · United States→
PH 1952 American helicopters Piasecki H-21 Shawnee Tandem-rotor transport helicopter, nicknamed the "Flying Banana" for its bent fuselage. Piasecki Helicopter · United States→
MM 1952 Russian & Soviet helicopters Mil Mi-4 Soviet transport helicopter similar to the Sikorsky H-19, built in large numbers. Mil · Soviet Union→
KH 1953 American helicopters Kaman HH-43 Huskie Intermeshing rotors: two rotors that turn through each other Kaman Aircraft · United States→
BU 1956 American helicopters Bell UH-1 Iroquois One of the most produced helicopters ever Bell Helicopter · United States→
FR 1957 European helicopters Fairey Rotodyne Large rotorcraft airliner with tip jets on the rotor and two turboprops for cruise flight. Fairey Aviation · United Kingdom→
MM 1957 Russian & Soviet helicopters Mil Mi-6 The largest helicopter in the world when it first flew Mil · Soviet Union→
SS 1959 American helicopters Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King Twin-engined helicopter for anti-submarine warfare and search and rescue, also used as Marine One. Sikorsky · United States→
KS 1959 American helicopters Kaman SH-2 Seasprite Ship-based helicopter of the US Navy for anti-submarine warfare and rescue. Kaman Aircraft · United States→
AA 1959 European helicopters Aérospatiale Alouette III Light turbine helicopter, flown for many years by the Royal Netherlands Air Force (Grasshoppers display team). Sud Aviation / Aérospatiale · France→
BC 1961 American helicopters Boeing CH-47 Chinook In production for more than 60 years Boeing · United States→
MM 1961 Russian & Soviet helicopters Mil Mi-8 The most-produced helicopter in the world Mil · Soviet Union→
SC 1962 American helicopters Sikorsky CH-54 Tarhe Flying crane with a thin fuselage, built to carry heavy loads under the helicopter; today used for fire fighting. Sikorsky · United States→
AS 1962 European helicopters Aérospatiale SA 321 Super Frelon Three-engined heavy helicopter of the French Navy, also built in China as the Changhe Z-8. Sud Aviation / Aérospatiale · France→
HO 1963 American helicopters Hughes OH-6 Cayuse Small egg-shaped observation helicopter; the basis of the MD 500 family. Hughes Helicopters · United States→
BA 1965 American helicopters Bell AH-1 Cobra The first dedicated attack helicopter Bell Helicopter · United States→
AS 1965 European helicopters Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma Twin-engined transport helicopter, the basis of the Super Puma and Cougar. Aérospatiale · France→
MV 1968 Russian & Soviet helicopters Mil V-12 The largest helicopter ever built Mil · Soviet Union→
MM 1969 Russian & Soviet helicopters Mil Mi-24 Heavily armed attack helicopter that can also carry eight soldiers, the "flying tank". Mil · Soviet Union→
VH 1970 European helicopters VFW-Fokker H3 Sprinter Small German-Dutch helicopter with a ducted-fan propulsion and tip-jet rotor; only prototypes were built. VFW-Fokker · Germany / Netherlands→
WL 1971 European helicopters Westland Lynx Speed record for helicopters (1986) Westland Helicopters · United Kingdom→
KK 1973 Russian & Soviet helicopters Kamov Ka-27 Coaxial rotors: two rotors on one mast Kamov · Soviet Union→
SU 1974 American helicopters Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk Medium utility helicopter of the US Army, used by more than 30 countries. Sikorsky · United States→
BA 1975 American helicopters Boeing AH-64 Apache Twin-engined attack helicopter with a 30 mm gun and Hellfire missiles, also flown by the Royal Netherlands Air Force. Hughes / McDonnell Douglas / Boeing · United States→
MM 1977 Russian & Soviet helicopters Mil Mi-26 The largest helicopter in production Mil · Soviet Union→
B2 1979 American helicopters Bell 214ST Larger twin-engined development of the Huey family, first built for Iran. Bell Helicopter · United States→
AA 1979 European helicopters Agusta-Bell AB 412 Twin-engined utility helicopter with a four-bladed rotor, built by Bell and under licence by Agusta. Agusta / Bell · Italy / United States→
MM 1982 Russian & Soviet helicopters Mil Mi-28 Two-seat all-weather attack helicopter of the Russian Air Force. Mil · Soviet Union / Russia→
AA 1983 European helicopters Agusta A129 Mangusta The first attack helicopter designed in Europe, flown by the Italian Army. Agusta · Italy→
AA 1987 European helicopters AgustaWestland AW101 Three-engined helicopter for transport, search and rescue and anti-submarine warfare. AgustaWestland / Leonardo · United Kingdom / Italy→
RR 1990 American helicopters Robinson R44 One of the best-selling civil helicopters Robinson Helicopter · United States→
DR 1990 Other countries Denel Rooivalk South African attack helicopter, used by the South African Air Force. Denel Aviation · South Africa→
KK 1991 American helicopters Kaman K-MAX Single-seat crane helicopter with intermeshing rotors, also flown as an unmanned helicopter. Kaman Aircraft · United States→
ET 1991 European helicopters Eurocopter Tiger Franco-German attack helicopter, also flown by Spain and Australia. Eurocopter / Airbus Helicopters · France / Germany→
HD 1992 Other countries HAL Dhruv Indian twin-engined utility helicopter, flown by the Sarang display team. Hindustan Aeronautics · India→
NN 1995 European helicopters NHIndustries NH90 Medium twin-engined helicopter with fly-by-wire controls, flown by the Royal Netherlands Navy and many other countries. NHIndustries · France / Germany / Italy / Netherlands→
KO 1996 Other countries Kawasaki OH-1 Japanese light observation helicopter with a fenestron tail rotor. Kawasaki · Japan→
KK 1997 Russian & Soviet helicopters Kamov Ka-52 Two-seat attack helicopter with coaxial rotors and side-by-side seats. Kamov · Russia→
BA 2000 American helicopters Bell AH-1Z Viper The latest twin-engined Cobra with a four-bladed rotor, for the US Marine Corps. Bell Helicopter · United States→
EE 2000 European helicopters Eurocopter EC725 Caracal Military Super Puma for transport and combat search and rescue. Eurocopter / Airbus Helicopters · France→
CZ 2003 Other countries Changhe Z-10 Chinese attack helicopter of the People's Liberation Army. Changhe Aircraft · China→
HZ 2010 Other countries Harbin Z-19 Light Chinese attack helicopter developed from the Harbin Z-9. Harbin Aircraft · China→
SC 2015 American helicopters Sikorsky CH-53K King Stallion The heaviest helicopter of the US armed forces Sikorsky · United States→
AH 2015 European helicopters Airbus H160 Modern civil helicopter with Blue Edge rotor blades for less noise. Airbus Helicopters · France→
MS Marenco SKYe SH09 2016 European helicopters Marenco SKYe SH09 Swiss single-engine helicopter, now continued by Leonardo as the AW09. Marenco Swisshelicopter / Kopter · Switzerland→