13th September: Helicopter Day

On this date in 1939 Igor Sikorsky invented the first practical helicopter, which is why today is Helicopter Day. Here are some facts about helicopters:

1. The word ‘helicopter’ was coined by French inventor Gustave de Ponton d’Amécourt and derives from the Greek helix, meaning a spiral or whirl, and pteron, meaning wing. Helicopters are also known as choppers, whirlybirds and helos.
2. Which is appropriate because the fast rotating blades of a helicopter act like spinning wings, which generate lift to make the thing fly.
3. That said, Gustave de Ponton's steam powered helicopter never actually got off the ground.
4. The earliest helicopters were toys. In 400BC there were toys made from Bamboo which would fly like helicopters do. In the 19th century, Alphonse Pénaud developed toys helicopters powered with Rubber bands. The Wright brothers were given one by their father, and this toy inspired them to pursue the dream of flight.
5. Leonardo da Vinci's sketches included a rotor system flying machine, which he called an aerial screw - but he never built one.
6. The largest helicopter in the world is The Mi-26, better known as the “Halo,” designed and produced by Russian Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant, which can carry 80 people.
7. The fastest is the Sikorsky X2 which, during a flyby over Florida, United States, reached a speed of 258mph (416kph).
8. The highest helicopter take-off and landing record is going to be hard to beat. In 2005, Didier Delsalle landed a Eurocopter AS350 Squirrel on the summit of Mount Everest and then took off again.
9. The deadliest helicopter crash was when a Mil Mi 26 was shot down over Chechnya, killing 127 people.
10. The pin which holds the rotors together is sometimes referred to as the "Jesus nut" because, like Jesus, it is like a cornerstone holding everything together. Or perhaps because a failure of this nut means you're headed straight to meet Him.

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