• “If
a man is in need of
rescue, an airplane can come in and throw
flowers on him, and that's just about all.
But a direct lift aircraft could come in and save his life.” ~Igor
Sikorsky
• “Helicopters,
Above All... Save Lives!” ~Helicopter
Association International (HAI) http://www.rotor.com
• “Two men stranded on an oil barge and in peril
of being washed overboard were lifted to safety by a hoist on a Sikorsky helicopter.
On that day, Thursday, November 29, 1945, the helicopter entered a new and
promising age.” [It was] “the first helicopter hoist rescue in
aviation history.” ~http://www.sikorskyarchives.com/first.html
• “...The helicopter symbolize(s) the victory of ingenuity over
common sense.” ~Montross, Lyn and Prouty, Ray, U.S.
Marine Corps Helicopter Experience, p. 20.
• “The fact that... helicopters
are eagerly sought in large numbers by air forces,
armies and navies all over the world
serves
to underscore their
value.” ~Gunston, Bill and Spick, Mike (1998), Modern
Fighting Helicopters, Salamander Books Limited, London, p.10,
paragraph 5.
• Igor Sikorsky created the world's first practical single main rotor
helicopter. Called the VS-300, it first flew September 14, 1939.
(unknown source)
• “This wonderful flying machine [the helicopter]
is, in some ways, an ultimate in airplanes. Back in 1908, Thomas Alva Edison
was
asked
for
his
opinion on the Wright brothers’ airplane.
The electrical wizard pooh-hoohed the Wrights’ achievement. No airplane
would be good, he said, until it could go straight up and down.”~LIFE
(magazine), June 21, 1943, Sikorsky’s Helicopter, by Joseph
Kastner, p.81, paragraph 13.
 • “Although
records are, in some cases, sketchy, indications
are that the H-13 rescued about 25,000 persons
in Korea. This includes both wounded
troops
and injured Korean civilians, the majority of whom would
probably have died if they had been forced to
rely on surface transportation to reach a hospital.” ~Brown,
David
A.
(1995), The Bell Helicopter Textron Story, Changing the Way the World
Flies, publisher: Aerofax, Inc.,
Texas, p.
101.
• “No
sight is more welcome to a storm-damaged area than the fleet
of rescue helicopters that magically appears immediately afterward.” ~McGuire,
Francis
G. (1998), Helicopters
(1948-1998), A Contemporary History, Publisher: Frank L. Jensen,
Jr., p. 202.
• “Law
enforcement helicopter pilots and their crews
are everyday heroes who routinely engage in high-risk
missions for the public good.” ~Rotor
(magazine), Winter 2005-2006, Vol.
18, No.4, Page 38, paragraph
2, Martin J. Pociask, Communications
Assistant.
• “The first real flying
machine-that's what some people call
a helicopter.”
~Ahnstrom, D.N. (1954), The Complete Book of Helicopters, The World
Publishing Company, page 11.
• “It is like a dream to feel the machine lift you gently up in
the air, float smoothly over one spot,” [Igor Ivanovitch Sikorsky commenting
on flying the VS-300. The VS-300 is the world’s first practical single
main rotor working helicopter. It first flew on September 14, 1939.] ~LIFE
(magazine), June 21, 1943, Sikorsky’s
Helicopter, by Joseph Kastner, p.92, paragraph
5.
 • “The unique Lockheed
Cheyenne was part helicopter, part fighter plane.
Heavily
armed and
blisteringly fast, it promised to revolutionize
the battlefield of the 1970's. In
the end, it proved to be a leap too far for
the politicians and Army, but it can rightly
be considered
to be the progenitor of today's
attack helicopter.” ~Robert
Hewson (1999),
Wings of Fame,
Volume 14,
Aerospace
Publishing
LTD, page
138.
• “Frank [Piasecki], inventor of
the tandem rotor helicopter, left an indelible
mark on helicopter history, and while it's
true he may be one of today's less-referenced
helicopter legends, he certainly is one: progenitor
of the H-46 and -47 Sea Knight and Chinook
lines, a visionary, inventor, even a slightly
madcap believer at times in unconventional
ways of harnessing the power of rotor lift.” ~Defence
Helicopter
(magazine),
February/March
2006, Vol.
25, No.1,
pages 33-34,
paragraph
3, David S.
Harvey, Editorial
Director,
North America.
• “...the
Helicopter is a highly complex and remarkable
machine which
has become an indispensable means of transport
and has proved invaluable in both civil and
military contexts, as well as for para-military
tasks such as policing, air-ambulance work
and traffic control.” ~Giorgio
Apostolo (1984), The
Illustrated Encyclopedia of Helicopters,
Bonanza Books,
From the first paragraph of the
Introduction.
 • “In mid-1931,
Sikorsky quietly applied for a patient (he would
receive it in 1935) on
the most basic
helicopter
configuration
of all: a
single
lifting rotor
with a small
vertical rotor
on the tail
to counteract
torque.” ~Young, Warren R. and
the editors of Time-Life Books (1982), The Helicopters, Time-Life Books,
page 78.
• “For those who love flying, the ability
of the helicopter to hover and move in any direction
from the hover with complete control gives a thrill
and fascination that is not found in any other
form of powered flight.” ~Fay, John (1976), The Helicopter, History,
Piloting and How it Flies, publisher: David & Charles,
page 106.
• “There are the usual conflicting
claims for the first use of a helicopter on the
battlefield—that
is, by
an American,
for the
French
had used
American-made
helicopters
earlier,
in the
French
Indochina
war.
Perhaps
the best
claim belongs to a Lieutenant Costello of the Third Air Rescue Squadron at Taegu,
South Korea. On August 6, 1950, he flew to
a medical
aid station
atop a 3,000-foot mountain. All roads out were cut off by enemy troops.
He carried a
badly wounded soldier to a filed hospital, setting
the pattern for a steady stream of battlefield
medical evacuations that have been made familiar
to tens of millions of television viewers by the
program M*A*S*H.” ~Keating, Bert (1976),
Chopper!, Rand McNally & Company,
page 46.
 • “In the words of Igor Sikorsky, 'A
helicopter is the most universal vehicle yet created
by man.'” '~Ahnstrom,
D.N.
(1954),
The
Complete
Book
of
Helicopters,
The
World
Publishing
Company,
page 46.
•
“So far as we know, a helicopter hasn't yet been
used for plowing a field. But whirlybirds have done almost everything else on
a farmer's list of chores.” ~Ahnstrom, D.N. (1954), The
Complete Book of Helicopters, The World Publishing Company, page 67.
• “Helicopters are renowned for working
in some of the most remote and inaccessible locations
on the planet.” ~Heliops
International (magazine), 2008, Issue
56, page 73.
• “The helicopter is evidence of how
man's imagination can be given physical form.” ~Wheeler,
Howard
A. (1987), Attack Helicopters, The Nautical
and Aviation Publishing Company of America,
page 101.
• “...the Haiti earthquake (January
12, 2010; 7.0 MW quake)
relief effort will stand
as
a useful demonstration
of
the lifesaving potential
of
the helicopter..." ~Vertical
Magazine, April/May 2010, page 67.
• “In 1951, Kaman persuaded the Navy
to finance the installation of a Boeing 502-2
gas turbine engine in a K-225; it became the world's
first gas-turbine helicopter. In 1954, Kaman successfully
flight-tested an HTK-1 with two Boeing engines—the
world's first twin gas-turbine helicopter.” ~Vertical
Magazine, August/September 2010, pages
65-66.
 • “One of the most important functions
of this aircraft, the flying ambulance. Medevac
helicopters (medical evacuation) help save thousands
of lives per year.” ~History Channel,
Modern Marvels — Helicopters.
• “Helicopters are multi-mission machines,
one of the most important missions they have,
are saving lives.” ~Discovery
Channel, Belly of the Beast, Rossi Morreale
(Host of
the show).
• “Bottom line; do we
as an industry actually have the collective will
to stop accidents? I believe we do. And I think
we can — share
the vision of ‘No
Accidents.’ Imagine what that would be like;
let’s change
the way we do business.” —Matt Zuccaro,
President, Helicopter Association International,
Rotor Magazine, Fall 2010, page
2. (Article is repeated in the Helicopter
Association International's 2011 Helicopter Annual,
(On DVD),
page 5.)
• “When in desperate
need of evacuation, the approach of a rescue helicopter
breaks down
all cultural and language barriers.” ~Michael
Hampson, September 16, 2011, HelicopterLinks.com
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