How did they invent helicopters?

0:00 Welcome to Histories Not Boring by Kidopoly.com. I'm Mira. And I'm Finn. Before we start, we have some huge shout-outs today. A massive hello to Jackson, who is a big fan and always wants the podcast on in the car. Jackson, you specifically asked for an episode about helicopters, so this one is entirely for you.

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0:52 Alright, get ready to look up! Today we are exploring a flying machine that can hover in mid-air, fly backward, and lower a rescue rope into a raging storm.

1:03 Wait, you mean helicopters? I love helicopters. They are so loud and awesome. They are.

1:10 And did you know that since the very first civilian rescue in 1945, Sikorsky brand helicopters alone have saved over two million lives?

1:20 Two million? That is like the entire population of a huge city, all saved by a spinning wing.

1:26 To understand how wild a helicopter is, think about a normal airplane. Airplanes have to move forward really fast, using giant engines to push air under their wings to fly. If they stop moving forward, they just fall out of the sky.

1:42 Right. That's why aeroplanes need huge, long runways to take off and land. They can't just stop in mid-air.

1:49 Exactly. But for hundreds of years, humans dreamed of a machine that could fly straight up into the clouds, hover in one spot completely still like a hummingbird, and land safely anywhere, even on a tiny patch of grass. Who was the very first person to think of it? The famous Italian artist and inventor Leonardo da Vinci.

2:12 Way back in 1489, over 500 years ago, he drew a sketch of an invention he called the aerial screw.

2:21 A flying screw, like the metal thing you used to build furniture in my bedroom. Kind of.

2:27 It looked like a giant spinning top with a huge spiral made of linen fabric, metal wire, and sturdy reeds. He thought if you spun it incredibly fast, it would twist right into the air and lift off. Did he ever actually build it and try to fly? No, because back then there were no engines. To make it spin fast enough, you would need four heavy men running in a circle pushing it, which would make the machine way too heavy to actually lift off the ground.

2:58 So they just gave up completely?

3:00 For a long time, yes. People tried all sorts of crazy ideas with steam engines, but they were huge and dangerous. But jump all the way to the year 1907. A French bicycle maker named Paul Cornou decided to try building a real helicopter using a heavy metal gas engine.

3:21 Oh boy, a gas engine from 1907 on a flying machine. That sounds so dangerous.

3:26 Cornu built what people called a flying bicycle. It was massive and weighed 573 pounds.

3:43 How did it possibly fly?

3:45 It had a 24 horsepower engine sitting right in the middle, connected by large rubber belts to two giant spinning rotors, one in the front and one in the back. And the landing gear was just four regular bicycle wheels.

4:00 Did it actually work? I feel like that would just rattle itself to pieces.

4:05 Well, on November 13th, 1907, Cornwravely climbed into the pilot seat. He started the sputtering, noisy, oily engine. The enormous blade spun faster and faster, whipping up a huge cloud of dust. And it lifted off. No way! How high did he go? Into the clouds? Over the trees? Not quite. He flew about one foot off the ground.

4:34 And he only stayed in the air for exactly 20 seconds before coming back down.

4:39 One foot? I can jump higher than that on a pogo stick. But I guess it was the first time an untethered helicopter ever lifted a human.

4:49 Exactly! But it was super hard to steer or control. The real hero of the helicopter story is a brilliant inventor named Igor Sikorsky. He tried building early helicopters in Ukraine in 1909, but the engines were so weak they couldn't even lift his own weight. So what did he do?

5:10 Did he build a better engine?

5:11 He moved to America, designed massive aeroplanes for a long time, but he never, ever forgot his dream of vertical flight. Finally, on September 14th, 1939, in Stratford, Connecticut, he rolled out his new invention, the VS300.

5:31 Was this one better than the flying bicycle?

5:34 Much better. But just to be perfectly safe, they actually tied the helicopter to the ground with heavy cables so it wouldn't suddenly flip over and crash. And here is a funny fact. Igor Sikorski actually wore a fancy business suit and a fedora hat during the test flight.

5:54 A business suit to test a flying machine? That is so funny.

5:59 Sikorsky sat calmly in the open pilot seat, pulled the control lever, and the main rotor spun so incredibly fast it vanished into a loud, roaring blur. The VS300 lifted off the ground, pulling tightly against its cables.

6:16 Wait, if the big blade on top is spinning super fast in one direction, wouldn't the whole helicopter just spin violently in the opposite direction? Like a crazy carnival ride?

6:27 Yes! That twisting force is a physics concept called torque. If there was nothing to stop it, the pilot would spin around so fast they would get dizzy and probably throw up.

6:38 Ew, a flying puke machine. I would hate that. How did Sikorsky stop the spinning?

6:45 He added a tail rotor. It's a small propeller mounted sideways on the very back of the helicopter. It pushes air sideways against the twist, keeping the helicopter perfectly straight. Almost every single helicopter today uses this brilliant single rotor and tail rotor design.

7:03 That is absolute genius. But what did he actually want to use them for? Just for fun?

7:09 Sikorsky's biggest dream was to use his invention to save people in danger. He famously said that if a man is in trouble, an airplane can only fly over and drop flowers, but a helicopter can come right down and save his life. Did he ever get to see his dream come true? He did! Fast forward to November 29, 1945, a massive, freezing winter storm was raging off the coast of Connecticut.

7:36 A large oil barge named Texaco Barge No. 397 was crashing violently against a dangerous rocky area called Penfield Reef. Oh no!

7:47 Were people trapped out there in the freezing waves?

7:50 Yes, two crewmen were stranded, and rescue boats couldn't reach them through the crashing surf. So, a brave test pilot named Jimmy Viner jumped into a military Sikorsky R5 helicopter. Jimmy flew the helicopter through the driving rain and hovered directly over the sinking barge in hurricane force winds.

8:11 They load an experimental mechanical hoist, which is a strong wire cable on a winch, and pulled the trapped men straight up into the sky to safety. Wow! Was that the very first helicopter rescue ever? It was the first civilian helicopter rescue in history. And it proved that Igor Sikorsky was completely right.

8:34 Since that stormy day in 1945, helicopters have rescued millions of people from freezing mountains, stormy oceans, and burning buildings.

8:45 That is seriously the greatest invention ever. Do you have any weird or crazy facts about helicopters?

8:53 I definitely do. Did you know helicopters can fly backward and sideways? Normal airplanes can only fly forward, but a helicopter pilot can tilt the spinning rotor blades to move in literally any direction they want.

9:09 That sounds like a crazy roller coaster ride. I bet it feels so weird to fly straight backward.

9:15 It does. Also, those spinning blades push down so much air that they create a massive burst of downward wind called downwash. This hurricane-like wind can hit speeds of over 100 miles per hour.

9:30 Whoa! So if a rescue helicopter hovers low over a gross muddy swamp, that 100 mph wind would blast thick mud and dirty water right into your face. Ew.

9:44 Exactly! You definitely need to cover your eyes and mouth if one lands near you. And speaking of speed, the fastest recorded speed for a helicopter is 249 mph. A world record set by a Westland Lynx helicopter in 1986.

10:02 249 miles per hour? That is faster than a professional race car on a track.

10:09 Alright, Finn, it is time for the quiz. Are you ready for this?

10:14 Okay, I'm ready. Give me your absolutely best questions.

10:19 First question. What year did Leonardo da Vinci sketch his famous aerial screw? Next one. What was the name of the French bicycle maker who flew one foot off the ground in 1907? Question 3. What specific kind of hat did Igor Sikorski wear during his early test flights? Here's number four. What invention did Sikorsky add to the back of the helicopter to stop it from spinning in circles?

11:03 Last question. In what exact year did the first civilian helicopter rescue happen during a massive winter storm? Great job! Let's see how you did on those. The first answer is, Da Vinci sketched it way back in 1489. For question two, the brave French bicycle maker was Paul Corneau. Number three, the answer is, Sikorsky always wore a fancy fedora hat.

11:36 Question four, he added a tail rotor to fight the torque. And the final answer is the first civilian rescue happened in 1945.

11:46 I cannot believe how brave those early pilots were. Flying machines that were completely experimental.

11:53 I know! And just think about Jimmy Viner flying into a massive storm to save those men on the barge. It really shows how incredible history is.

12:03 Totally! Hey listeners, if you think Jimmy Viner was a hero for flying into that storm, please leave us a five-star review. Just scroll down on your app and tap the five stars.

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