One Hell of a Copter

    
Pioneers
of the helicopter, once considered the "unwanted stepchild"1 of
American aviation, truly were evangelicals for their cause. One stated
that "for most of us, the helicopter is the ancient dream of
humanity."2 Another credited the "omnipotent" with a
personal role in the creation, christening the helicopter a
"mechanical Pegasus"3 (and indeed, the equine comparison is
popular: the helicopter formations of the U.S. Army would be known as the
"Air Cavalry").4 The breathless enthusiasm emerged due to two
key reasons: the awesome controllability of the machine5 and its potential
for universal usage.6
       Regarding controllability, the
aeronautical device’s "main draw" was the ability to fly low
and slow in any direction and to stop in mid-air.7 Such graceful
manipulation required serious technical development that involved
mastering the concepts of cyclical and collective pitch, autorotation and
torque, all daunting tasks at the outset of helicopter engineering.
     Universality was even more appealing than
controllability. Igor Sikorsky, one of the fathers of helicopter
technology, stated that "the helicopter is the most universal vehicle
of transportation ever designed or used by man."8 The proposed
"Mr. and Mrs. Citizen" would like to fly it due to its
"smoothness, comfort, and feeling of great control."9 Whereas
private planes resulted in heavy casualty rates in the early part of the
20th century due to inadequate piloting,10 the advantage of helicopters
was the ability to immediately land, eliminating the danger of accident in
normal fast takeoffs and landings.11 Panting inventors thus envisioned an
end to clogged city streets12 and a future time in which the
"smallest city lot or top of building" could double as an aerial
station.13
      In mastering both principles, WWII proved
the catalyst for development. Indeed, "at the outbreak of WWII,
helicopters were a marginal technology, with aeroplanes [sic] being
produced in large quantity with clearly defined roles."14 While ideas
had circulated about the helicopter for hundreds of years, development
only picked up in the 20th century, and even then depended on a
combination of national demand and personal determination, beginning with
England’s Spanish import, Juan de la Cierva, then Germany’s own
Heinrich Focke and finally, the . . .