Interesting Helicopter and Fixed-wing Facts for Modesto, CA

The biggest helicopter was the Russian Mil Mi-12 Homer of 1968 which could lift 40,204 kg up to 2255 m.

The first reference to a rotor system is credited to inventor Leonardo da Vinci, who designed an ‘aerial screw’ in 1480. No full-scale variant was constructed during his lifetime.

Myths about Helicopters for Modesto, CA

Myth #1: If a helicopter's engine quits, you're a goner. Unfortunately, the film and television industries help to perpetuate this myth by showing helicopters spinning wildly out of control when there is engine failure or gunfire. In Reality, the rotors turn like a windmill allowing the helicopter to make a controlled descent to the ground.

Myth #2: Helicopters are too fragile to fly in strong winds. Once the aircraft leaves the ground, it becomes one with the wind, so it is not the wind that causes the turbulence, but the land with the uneven heating of the earth's surface or the movement of air over and around the terrain. Helicopters are built to fly in strong winds, but it is the land that causes problems for the aircraft.

Myth #3: A flight in a helicopter is always bumpier than a flight in an airplane. The vibration may be more than in an airplane, but when it comes to turbulence, the helicopter are much more stable. The Rotor disc takes much of the brunt of the turbulence while the fuselage which is hanging below the rotors, takes on little of the bumps and jolts.