Maui Chopper
- • The word "helicopter" comes from the French hélicoptère, using the Greek "helix," meaning "spiral" and "pteron," meaning "wing."
- • Toy helicopters have been around for at least 2400 years. Children in fourth century B.C. China played with a round stick that had feathers on top, which would sail into the air when spun.
- • Over 500 years ago, Leonardo da Vinci sketched the "aerial screw," one of the earliest known designs for a machine that resembles a helicopter.
- • Science fiction writer Jules Verne wrote a novel about the Albatross, a ship that flew through the air using 37 propellers.
- • Paul Cornu, a Frenchman, made the world's first manned helicopter flight in 1907, on a device called the "Flying Bicycle." His trip lasted 30 seconds and his altitude was about one foot.
- • Helicopters are the most versatile flying machines in the world. Their unparalleled ability to hover, back up, and fly in all dimensions, all at a cost that is much more manageable than a V/STOL (Vertical/Short Takeoff and Landing) jet, makes them adaptable and affordable for military, commercial and recreational uses.
- • There are hundreds of different kinds of helicopters specifically designed for the locations in which they must work. Copters designed for alpine rescue, for instance, are small, lightweight and utilize skis on the undercarriage, which allow it to easily take off and land in heavy snow.
- • The first helicopter landing aboard a ship took place on the Long Island Sound in May, 1943.
- • The Marine One, a Sikorsky S-6, is the official helicopter for the President of the United States. It is only referred to as "Marine One" when the President is on board.
- • The largest helicopter ever built was the Russian Mil V-12. Its wing-span was wider than a 747 jet. Only two were ever made.
- • The fastest a helicopter has ever gone is 249.09 mph, a record set in 1986 aboard a Westland ZB500. The laws of physics suggest that a helicopter cannot go above 250 mph.
- • Ron Bower, the founder of Bower Helicopters, set the around-the-world helicopter speed record in 1996 while behind the controls of a Bell 430. It took him 17 days, 6 hours, and 14 minutes to circle the earth.
- • The Bell AH-1 HueyCobra has been called "the world's first attack helicopter," but other attack copters have intimidating names too, including the Tiger, Werewolf, Apache, Cougar, Puma and Warrior.
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