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.
| Helicopter | Designation | Manufacturer | In service | Type | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Focke-Wulf Fw 61 | Focke-Wulf | 1936 | Experimental helicopter | Prototype | ||
| Flettner Fl 282 Kolibri“Hummingbird” | Flettner | 1941 | Naval observation helicopter | Retired | ||
| Sikorsky R-4“Hoverfly” | Sikorsky | 1942 | Light utility helicopter | Museum | ||
| Bell 47“Sioux” | Bell Helicopter | 1945 | Light utility helicopter | Retired / some still flying | ||
| Mil Mi-1“Hare” | Mil | 1948 | Light utility helicopter | Retired | ||
| Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaw“S-55” | Sikorsky | 1949 | Utility helicopter | Retired | ||
| Piasecki H-21 Shawnee“Flying Banana” | Piasecki Helicopter | 1952 | Tandem-rotor transport helicopter | Retired | ||
| Mil Mi-4“Hound” | Mil | 1952 | Transport helicopter | Retired | ||
| Kaman HH-43 Huskie | Kaman Aircraft | 1953 | Rescue / fire-fighting helicopter | Retired | ||
| Bell UH-1 Iroquois“Huey” | Bell Helicopter | 1956 | Utility helicopter | In service | ||
| Fairey Rotodyne | Fairey Aviation | 1957 | Compound gyroplane airliner | Prototype | ||
| Mil Mi-6“Hook” | Mil | 1957 | Heavy transport helicopter | Retired | ||
| Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King“S-61” | Sikorsky | 1959 | Anti-submarine / transport helicopter | In service | ||
| Kaman SH-2 Seasprite | Kaman Aircraft | 1959 | Naval helicopter | Retired | ||
| Aérospatiale Alouette III | Sud Aviation / Aérospatiale | 1959 | Light utility helicopter | In service | ||
| Boeing CH-47 Chinook | Boeing | 1961 | Tandem-rotor heavy transport helicopter | In service | ||
| Mil Mi-8“Hip” | Mil | 1961 | Medium transport helicopter | In production | ||
| Sikorsky CH-54 Tarhe“S-64 Skycrane” | Sikorsky | 1962 | Heavy-lift crane helicopter | In service (civil) | ||
| Aérospatiale SA 321 Super Frelon | Sud Aviation / Aérospatiale | 1962 | Heavy transport helicopter | Retired | ||
| Hughes OH-6 Cayuse“Loach” | Hughes Helicopters | 1963 | Light observation helicopter | In service | ||
| Bell AH-1 Cobra“HueyCobra” | Bell Helicopter | 1965 | Attack helicopter | In service | ||
| Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma | Aérospatiale | 1965 | Medium transport helicopter | In service | ||
| Mil V-12“Homer” | Mil | 1968 | Heavy-lift helicopter (prototype) | Prototype | ||
| Mil Mi-24“Hind” | Mil | 1969 | Attack helicopter / troop transport | In service | ||
| VFW-Fokker H3 Sprinter | VFW-Fokker | 1970 | Experimental light helicopter | Prototype | ||
| Westland Lynx | Westland Helicopters | 1971 | Utility / naval helicopter | In service | ||
| Kamov Ka-27“Helix” | Kamov | 1973 | Naval helicopter | In service | ||
| Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk | Sikorsky | 1974 | Utility helicopter | In service | ||
| Boeing AH-64 Apache | Hughes / McDonnell Douglas / Boeing | 1975 | Attack helicopter | In service | ||
| Mil Mi-26“Halo” | Mil | 1977 | Heavy transport helicopter | In service | ||
| Bell 214ST“SuperTransport” | Bell Helicopter | 1979 | Medium transport helicopter | Retired / civil | ||
| Agusta-Bell AB 412 | Agusta / Bell | 1979 | Utility helicopter | In service | ||
| Mil Mi-28“Havoc” | Mil | 1982 | Attack helicopter | In service | ||
| Agusta A129 Mangusta | Agusta | 1983 | Attack helicopter | In service | ||
| AgustaWestland AW101“Merlin” | AgustaWestland / Leonardo | 1987 | Medium-lift helicopter | In service | ||
| Robinson R44“Raven / Astro” | Robinson Helicopter | 1990 | Light civil helicopter | In production | ||
| Denel Rooivalk | Denel Aviation | 1990 | Attack helicopter | In service | ||
| Kaman K-MAX“K-1200” | Kaman Aircraft | 1991 | Crane helicopter | In production | ||
| Eurocopter Tiger“Tigre” | Eurocopter / Airbus Helicopters | 1991 | Attack helicopter | In service | ||
| HAL Dhruv | Hindustan Aeronautics | 1992 | Utility helicopter | In service | ||
| NHIndustries NH90 | NHIndustries | 1995 | Medium transport / naval helicopter | In service | ||
| Kawasaki OH-1“Ninja” | Kawasaki | 1996 | Observation helicopter | In service | ||
| Kamov Ka-52“Alligator” | Kamov | 1997 | Attack / reconnaissance helicopter | In service | ||
| Bell AH-1Z Viper | Bell Helicopter | 2000 | Attack helicopter | In service | ||
| Eurocopter EC725 Caracal“H225M” | Eurocopter / Airbus Helicopters | 2000 | Long-range transport / rescue helicopter | In service | ||
| Changhe Z-10“Fierce Thunderbolt” | Changhe Aircraft | 2003 | Attack helicopter | In service | ||
| Harbin Z-19“Black Whirlwind” | Harbin Aircraft | 2010 | Light attack / reconnaissance helicopter | In service | ||
| Sikorsky CH-53K King Stallion | Sikorsky | 2015 | Heavy-lift transport helicopter | In service | ||
| Airbus H160 | Airbus Helicopters | 2015 | Medium civil helicopter | In production | ||
 | Marenco SKYe SH09 | Marenco Swisshelicopter / Kopter | 2016 | Light single-engine helicopter | Development |
No helicopters found.