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By: Ikedi Ani-okoye.

Introduction to helicopters

Helicopter design pioneers like Arthur Young and Stanley Hiller envisioned long ago that helicopters would be used as commonly as automobiles for personal transportation in the future. However, small and simple private aircraft gained more importance then helicopters, as they were not only cost-effective but also required low expenses for its maintenance.

Building a helicopter

Just like private aircraft, some helicopters can also be built from kits, wherein a person can buy the kits and then assemble the parts himself, which reduces the cost of the helicopters considerably. The most popular amateur-built helicopter in the US sold to date is the Bensen B-8 Gyrocopter. Some of the other trendy helicopters commonly built from a kit are American Sportscopter's first ultralight helicopter Ultrasport 254, The RotorWay Scorpion133 and the Dragon Fly 333.

Heavy lifting helicopters

The CH-54 Tarhe was a heavy lift helicopter built by Sikorsky. It was designed for external lifting of heavy and bulky loads. The aircraft was first flown on May 9, 1962. The CH-54 grew out of earlier developments with heavy lift helicopters buy Sikorsky, most notably the S-60. The Ch-54 maintained the same basic shape as the S-60 but instead of piston engines its was powered by turbine engines. One noteworthy feature of the S-60 was that the co-pilot was able to swivel his seat to the rear to observe the hoisting and unhoisting of cargo.

Flying military helicopters

A career flying military helicopters offers excitement, challenge, and adventure. Military helicopter missions include transporting troops and equipment, anti-submarine warfare, troop helicopter escort, anti-armor, reconnaissance, and inserting/extracting special operations personnel.

CONCLUSION

Military helicopter pilots have very rewarding careers. They fly with and support some of the best people this nation has to offer. Although there are many small helicopters built by various manufacturers in the US, helicopters have not been able to compete with the cheaper light fixed-wing aircraft which are not only easier to fly but cheaper to maintain.