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HELICOPTER QUOTES

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Helicopter Quotes

Sikorsky S-76D at Heli-Expo 2014.• “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 (Per the Sikorsky Archives website.)

• “If you are in trouble anywhere in the world, an airplane can fly over and drop flowers, but a helicopter can land and save your life.” —This quote is also credited to Igor Sikorsky however, this quote is not listed on the Sikorsky Archives website.)

• “Helicopters, Above All... Save Lives!” ~Helicopter Association International (HAI) 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.” Paraphrasing: It was the first helicopter hoist rescue in aviation history. ~Sikorsky Archives www.sikorskyarchives.com.

• “The helicopter approaches closer than any other (vehicle) to fulfillment of mankind's ancient dream of the flying horse and the magic carpet.” ~Igor Sikorsky

• “It would be right to state that, with the successful flight of the XR-4 in the summer of 1942, the helicopter became a reality in the United States.” ~Igor Sikorsky

• “...The helicopter symbolize(s) the victory of ingenuity over common sense.” ~Montross, Lyn and Prouty, Ray, U.S. Marine Corps Helicopter Experience, p. 20.

• “A helicopter is piloted with precision and not by chance.” ~Unknown.

• “The many interesting flight activities and great variety of service rendered by the helicopter are well known, the most important being the saving of many thousands of lives.” ~Igor Sikorsky (Per the Sikorsky Archives website.)

• “Man wants to fly like a bird, not a bat out of hell.” ~Lawrence Bell.

• “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.

Sikorsky S-92 at Heli-Expo 2013.• “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.

Sikorsky S-97 Raider military helicopter on display at Heli-Expo 2014.• “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.

Scale model of the Vought-Sikorsky VS-300 at Heli-Expo 2013.• “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.

• “For me, the greatest source of comfort and satisfaction is the fact that our helicopters have saved up to the present time (1969) over fifty thousand lives and still continue with their rescue missions. I consider this to be the most glorious page in the history of aviation.” ~Igor Sikorsky (Per the Sikorsky Archives website.)

• “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.

Restored Sikorsky S-52 helicopter on display at Heli-Expo 2014.• “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).

• “It would be right to say that the helicopter's role in saving lives represents one of the most glorious pages in the history of human flight.” ~Igor Sikorsky

• “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.)

• “It seemed to all of us that if we could build it, we could fly it.” ~Stanley Hiller.

• “When in desperate need of evacuation, the approach of a rescue helicopter breaks down all cultural and language barriers.” ~Michael Hampson, September 16, 2011, Helicopter Links.

• “The helicopter: The flying carpet of the Scientific Age.” ~Michael Hampson, March 21, 2013, Helicopter Links.

• “Helicopters don't fly, they vibrate so badly the ground rejects them.” ~Tom Clancy

• “Helicopters make everything better.” ~Gage Monroe (Canadian actor)

• “Scientists tell us that the fastest animal in the world, with a speed of 120 mph, is a cow dropped out of a helicopter.” ~Dave Barry (author)

• “The thing is, helicopters are different from planes. An airplane by it’s nature wants to fly, and if not interfered with too strongly by unusual events or by a deliberately incompetent pilot, it will fly. A helicopter does not want to fly. It is maintained in the air by a variety of forces and controls working in opposition to each other, and if there is any disturbance in this delicate balance the helicopter stops flying, immediately and disastrously. There is no such thing as a gliding helicopter. This is why being a helicopter pilot is so different from being an airplane pilot, and why, in general, airplane pilots are open, clear-eyed, buoyant extroverts, and helicopter pilots are brooders, introspective anticipators of trouble. They know if something bad has not happened. it is about to.” ~Harry Reasoner (American journalist)

• “The helicopter appeared so reluctant to fly forward that we even considered turning the pilot’s seat around and letting it fly backward.” ~Igor Sikorsky

• “I’m always looking for sounds that are pleasing at the time. The sound of a helicopter is really annoying until you’re drowning, and it’s there to rescue you. Then it sounds like music.” ~Tom Waits (American musician, composer, songwriter and actor)

About the pictures on this web page:

Helicopter Links took these pictures at Heli-Expo 2013 and Heli-Expo 2014. These pictures may not be copied or reproduced in any form such as print or electronic or any other future form of transmission without our permission. These pictures are copyrighted by Helicopter Links


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