Guess my fav helicopter and ill draw it!

Community Hangar General Discussion
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not Huey

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Bell 407?

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KA-52 Alligator?

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Apache?

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no

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Boeing Chinook?

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1. The Pioneers (Pre-1940s)

Before helicopters were practical, inventors like Leonardo da Vinci and Igor Sikorsky experimented with vertical lift.

  • Da Vinci’s Aerial Screw (1480s): The first conceptual sketch of a helical air screw.

  • Focke-Wulf Fw 61 (1936): Often cited as the first fully controllable helicopter.

  • Vought-Sikorsky VS-300 (1939): The first practical helicopter to use the single main rotor and tail rotor design that defines most modern choppers.

2. World War II & Early Production (1940s–1950s)

Helicopters began seeing limited service, primarily for search and rescue.

  • Sikorsky R-4 Hoverfly (1942): The first mass-produced helicopter and the only one to see significant service during WWII.

  • Bell 47 / H-13 Sioux (1946): Famous for its “bubble” canopy and its role as a medical evacuee in the Korean War.

  • Sikorsky S-51 Dragonfly (1949): A pioneer in naval operations and early search and rescue.

3. The Vietnam Era: The “Huey” Revolution (1960s–1970s)

This era saw the helicopter become a primary tool of warfare and civilian utility.

  • Bell UH-1 Iroquois “Huey” (1959): Perhaps the most iconic helicopter in history, synonymous with the Vietnam War .

  • Boeing CH-47 Chinook (1962): A tandem-rotor heavy lifter that remains the fastest military helicopter in service today .

  • Bell AH-1 Cobra (1967): The world’s first purpose-built attack helicopter.

  • Mil Mi-24 “Hind” (1972): A massive Soviet attack and transport hybrid often called a “flying tank”.

4. Modern Workhorses (1980s–Present)

Current helicopters focus on specialized roles like stealth, heavy lift, and high-speed transit.

  • Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk (1979): The most widely used military helicopter in the U.S. fleet today.

  • Boeing AH-64 Apache (1986): Widely considered the most advanced attack helicopter in the world.

  • Robinson R22/R44 (1979): The go-to for flight training and civilian use globally.

  • Eurocopter UH-72 Lakota (2006): A modern light utility helicopter used extensively for domestic support

  • Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey (2007): A tiltrotor aircraft that takes off like a helicopter but flies like a plane.

5. The Future: Next-Gen Vertical Lift

  • Sikorsky CH-53K King Stallion: The newest and most powerful heavy-lift helicopter in the U.S. Marine Corps.

  • Bell V-280 Valor: The selected replacement for the legendary Black Hawk, currently in development.

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lol still no :sob:

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only 1 reply per person from now on since its been abused :distorted_face:

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