117-1036: The Sikorsky S-61R is a twin-engine helicopter used in transport or search and rescue roles. A developed version of the S-61/SH-3 Sea King , the S-61R was also built under license by Agusta as the AS-61R . The S-61R served in the United States Air Force as the CH-3C/E Sea King and the HH-3E Jolly Green Giant , and with the United States Coast Guard as the HH-3F , nicknamed "Pelican" . This article covers several different variants of this type in different roles, one major difference compared to
234-616: A runway . In 1942, the Sikorsky R-4 became the first helicopter to reach full-scale production . Although most earlier designs used more than one main rotor, the configuration of a single main rotor accompanied by a vertical anti-torque tail rotor (i.e. unicopter , not to be confused with the single-blade monocopter ) has become the most common helicopter configuration. However, twin-rotor helicopters (bicopters), in either tandem or transverse rotors configurations, are sometimes in use due to their greater payload capacity than
351-674: A US serviceman was killed by Panamanian soldiers. Operation Just Cause , the United States invasion of Panama saw MAC C-141s being flown performing an Army combat parachute drop. The drop formation included C-130s as well as C-141s. The US forces quickly overwhelmed the Panamanian military and soon captured the Panamanian dictator, Manuel Noriega , and brought him to the United States to stand trial. Beginning in World War II , special operations utilizing transport aircraft were
468-444: A collective input is made, all the blades change equally, and the result is the helicopter increasing or decreasing in altitude. A swashplate controls the collective and cyclic pitch of the main blades. The swashplate moves up and down, along the main shaft, to change the pitch of both blades. This causes the helicopter to push air downward or upward, depending on the angle of attack . The swashplate can also change its angle to move
585-417: A constant altitude. The pedals serve the same function in both a helicopter and a fixed-wing aircraft, to maintain balanced flight. This is done by applying a pedal input in whichever direction is necessary to center the ball in the turn and bank indicator . Due to the operating characteristics of the helicopter—its ability to take off and land vertically, and to hover for extended periods of time, as well as
702-826: A demanding track across the Mediterranean , and to missiles and sabotage, as they were off-loading in Israel . The airlift proved key to the Israeli victory. It had not only brought about the timely resupply of the Israeli armed forces but also provided a series of deadly new weapons put to good use in the latter part of the war. These included the AGM-65 Maverick , the BGM-71 TOW anti-tank weapons and extensive new electronic countermeasures equipment that warded off successful attacks on Israeli fighters. Reflecting on
819-923: A few individuals formerly associated with intelligence activities came out semi-covertly through the Air America terminal. On two days, 21 and 22 April, sixty-four hundred persons left Tan Son Nhut for Clark AB aboard thirty-three C-141s and forty-one C-130s. Operations were around-the-clock, the C-141s landing by day and the C-130s generally by night. Other C-141s and the contract carriers meanwhile moved those refugees already at Clark eastward to Guam and Wake Island . Nearly all aircrews reported tracer fire and airbursts with some bursts reaching to eighteen-thousand feet. On 26 and 27 April, twelve-thousand persons left Tan Son Nhut for Clark AB aboard forty-six C-130 and twenty-eight C-141 flights. The intensifying enemy fire forced
936-414: A few more flights and achieved a height of nearly 2.0 metres (6.5 ft), but it proved to be unstable and was abandoned. Military Airlift Command The Military Airlift Command ( MAC ) is an inactive United States Air Force major command (MAJCOM) that was headquartered at Scott Air Force Base , Illinois . Established on 1 January 1966, MAC was the primary strategic airlift organization of
1053-463: A gift by their father, would inspire the Wright brothers to pursue the dream of flight. In 1861, the word "helicopter" was coined by Gustave de Ponton d'Amécourt , a French inventor who demonstrated a small steam-powered model. While celebrated as an innovative use of a new metal, aluminum, the model never lifted off the ground. D'Amecourt's linguistic contribution would survive to eventually describe
1170-405: A helicopter determines the size, function and capability of that helicopter design. The earliest helicopter engines were simple mechanical devices, such as rubber bands or spindles, which relegated the size of helicopters to toys and small models. For a half century before the first airplane flight, steam engines were used to forward the development of the understanding of helicopter aerodynamics, but
1287-510: A helicopter powered by a gasoline engine with box kites attached to a mast by cables for a rotor, but it never flew. In 1906, two French brothers, Jacques and Louis Breguet , began experimenting with airfoils for helicopters. In 1907, those experiments resulted in the Gyroplane No.1 , possibly as the earliest known example of a quadcopter. Although there is some uncertainty about the date, sometime between 14 August and 29 September 1907,
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#17327910287421404-416: A helicopter. This is because a helicopter generates its own gusty air while in a hover, which acts against the fuselage and flight control surfaces. The result is constant control inputs and corrections by the pilot to keep the helicopter where it is required to be. Despite the complexity of the task, the control inputs in a hover are simple. The cyclic is used to eliminate drift in the horizontal plane, that
1521-827: A new model for the United States Navy to replace the HUS-1s , used for anti-submarine warfare. Designated the HSS-2 (Helicopter, anti-Submarine, Sikorsky) under the old designation system , this helicopter would enter service as the SH-3 Sea King under the new tri-service designation system . On 9 January 1958, General Randolph M. Pate , Commandant of the Marine Corps , wrote to the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) requesting procurement of modified HSS-2s to replace
1638-474: A nose antenna radome offset to port, and water landing capability. Italian Agusta built a S-61R variant under license, named AS-61R. Agusta produced 22 helicopters for the Italian Air Force. The company claimed it could re-open the production line in 36 months to build additional AS-61 helicopters. USAF variants served in numerous air rescue squadrons and aerospace rescue and recovery squadrons of
1755-761: A part of the USAAF mission. Troop Carrier Command (TCC) C-47 squadrons worked with the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in Europe, Asia and other regions flying clandestine missions behind enemy lines. In the 1950s, the MATS Air Resupply And Communications Service (ARCS) controlled special operations forces during the Korean War and throughout the 1950s supporting both DoD as well as CIA activities. MATS worked closely with
1872-477: A process of rebracketing , the word is often (erroneously, from an etymological point of view) perceived by English speakers as consisting of heli- and -copter , leading to words like helipad and quadcopter . English language nicknames for "helicopter" include "chopper", "copter", "heli", and "whirlybird". In the United States military, the common slang is "helo" pronounced /ˈhiː.loʊ/. A helicopter
1989-554: A response to the Iraq invasion of Kuwait in August 1990, President Bush responded by dispatching American armed forces to Saudi Arabia to protect the kingdom and the oilfields vital to the western industrial nations. The 82nd Airborne Division began moving by air from its base at Fort Bragg , North Carolina to the Saudi desert. MAC's entire force of C-141s and C-5s was dedicated to
2106-834: A resurgence of emphasis on long-range special operations teams whose mission would be primarily to conduct operations such as the rescue of hostages. A new special operations force was created under the Ninth Air Force, and based at Hurlburt Field , Florida , but the mission soon transferred to the Military Airlift Command where it became the Twenty-Third Air Force on 10 February 1983. Twenty-Third Air Force units both in Europe ( Rhein-Main Air Base , RAF Mildenhall ) and Japan ( Yokota Air Base supported various clandestine missions throughout
2223-494: A rotor. The spinning creates lift, and the toy flies when released. The 4th-century AD Daoist book Baopuzi by Ge Hong ( 抱朴子 "Master who Embraces Simplicity") reportedly describes some of the ideas inherent to rotary wing aircraft. Designs similar to the Chinese helicopter toy appeared in some Renaissance paintings and other works. In the 18th and early 19th centuries Western scientists developed flying machines based on
2340-441: A single main rotor, but torque created by its aerodynamic drag must be countered by an opposed torque. The design that Igor Sikorsky settled on for his VS-300 was a smaller tail rotor. The tail rotor pushes or pulls against the tail to counter the torque effect, and this has become the most common configuration for helicopter design, usually at the end of a tail boom . Some helicopters use other anti-torque controls instead of
2457-417: A state called translational lift which provides extra lift without increasing power. This state, most typically, occurs when the airspeed reaches approximately 16–24 knots (30–44 km/h; 18–28 mph), and may be necessary for a helicopter to obtain flight. In forward flight a helicopter's flight controls behave more like those of a fixed-wing aircraft. Applying forward pressure on the cyclic will cause
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#17327910287422574-429: Is a cylindrical metal shaft that extends upwards from the transmission. At the top of the mast is the attachment point for the rotor blades called the hub. Main rotor systems are classified according to how the rotor blades are attached and move relative to the hub. There are three basic types: hingeless, fully articulated, and teetering; although some modern rotor systems use a combination of these. Most helicopters have
2691-452: Is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more horizontally-spinning rotors. By contrast the autogyro (or gyroplane) and gyrodyne have a free-spinning rotor for all or part of the flight envelope, relying on a separate thrust system to propel the craft forwards, so that the airflow sets the rotor spinning to provide lift. The compound helicopter also has a separate thrust system, but continues to supply power to
2808-452: Is called an aerial crane . Aerial cranes are used to place heavy equipment, like radio transmission towers and large air conditioning units, on the tops of tall buildings, or when an item must be raised up in a remote area, such as a radio tower raised on the top of a hill or mountain. Helicopters are used as aerial cranes in the logging industry to lift trees out of terrain where vehicles cannot travel and where environmental concerns prohibit
2925-429: Is equipped to stabilize and provide limited medical treatment to a patient while in flight. The use of helicopters as air ambulances is often referred to as " MEDEVAC ", and patients are referred to as being "airlifted", or "medevaced". This use was pioneered in the Korean War , when time to reach a medical facility was reduced to three hours from the eight hours needed in World War II , and further reduced to two hours by
3042-678: Is the Sud-Ouest Djinn , and an example of the hot tip jet helicopter is the YH-32 Hornet . Some radio-controlled helicopters and smaller, helicopter-type unmanned aerial vehicles , use electric motors or motorcycle engines. Radio-controlled helicopters may also have piston engines that use fuels other than gasoline, such as nitromethane . Some turbine engines commonly used in helicopters can also use biodiesel instead of jet fuel. There are also human-powered helicopters . A helicopter has four flight control inputs. These are
3159-411: Is to control forward and back, right and left. The collective is used to maintain altitude. The pedals are used to control nose direction or heading . It is the interaction of these controls that makes hovering so difficult, since an adjustment in any one control requires an adjustment of the other two, creating a cycle of constant correction. As a helicopter moves from hover to forward flight it enters
3276-572: The Bell 205 and the Erickson S-64 Aircrane helitanker. Helicopters are used as air ambulances for emergency medical assistance in situations when an ambulance cannot easily or quickly reach the scene, or cannot transport the patient to a medical facility in time. Helicopters are also used when patients need to be transported between medical facilities and air transportation is the most practical method. An air ambulance helicopter
3393-535: The Bell 206 with 3,400. Most were in North America with 34.3% then in Europe with 28.0% followed by Asia-Pacific with 18.6%, Latin America with 11.6%, Africa with 5.3% and Middle East with 1.7%. The earliest references for vertical flight came from China. Since around 400 BC, Chinese children have played with bamboo flying toys (or Chinese top). This bamboo-copter is spun by rolling a stick attached to
3510-527: The Cornu helicopter which used two 6.1-metre (20 ft) counter-rotating rotors driven by a 24 hp (18 kW) Antoinette engine. On 13 November 1907, it lifted its inventor to 0.3 metres (1 ft) and remained aloft for 20 seconds. Even though this flight did not surpass the flight of the Gyroplane No. 1, it was reported to be the first truly free flight with a pilot. Cornu's helicopter completed
3627-554: The European and North African AORs. These were: Annual Exercise REFORGER deployments of United States Army forces to West Germany was intended to ensure that NATO had the ability to quickly deploy forces to West Germany in the event of a conflict with the Soviet Union . MAC C-5 and C-141 aircraft transported entire units of Army infantry, artillery and mechanized personnel yearly after some forces were withdrawn back to
Sikorsky S-61R - Misplaced Pages Continue
3744-647: The Israeli Armed Forces ' stocks of munitions and other consumables were rapidly drained. One of the most critical but least celebrated airlifts in history unfolded over a desperate 32 days in the fall of 1973. Operation Nickel Grass was the United States' effort to ship thousands of tons of materiel over vast distances into the midst of the most ferocious fighting the Middle East had ever witnessed. MAC C-141 and C-5 transport aircraft went in harm's way, vulnerable to attack from fighters, as they carved
3861-628: The Jolly Green Giant (because of its size and olive green color scheme; alluding to the Jolly Green Giant company mascot), the HH-3E featured protective armor, self-sealing tanks, a retractable inflight refueling probe, jettisonable external tanks, a high-speed hoist, and other specialized equipment. In 1965, the U.S. Coast Guard ordered a version designated HH-3F Sea King (more commonly known by its nickname "Pelican") for all-weather air-sea rescue . The Pelican featured search radar with
3978-551: The Military Airlift Command (MAC), rescue squadrons of the Air Combat Command (ACC) and other USAF major commands worldwide. The aircraft was also used by a number of Air Force Reserve Command and Air National Guard rescue squadrons. All USAF HH-3Es, to include Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard, were retired in the 1990s and replaced by the current HH-60G Pavehawk . The HH-3F Pelican
4095-499: The Vietnam War . In naval service a prime function of rescue helicopters is to promptly retrieve downed aircrew involved in crashes occurring upon launch or recovery aboard aircraft carriers. In past years this function was performed by destroyers escorting the carrier, but since then helicopters have proved vastly more effective. Police departments and other law enforcement agencies use helicopters to pursue suspects and patrol
4212-517: The 1968 Tet Offensive , MAC transports airlifted additional troops from the 101st Airborne Division from Fort Campbell , Kentucky to South Vietnam , supporting a buildup of forces in South Korea in response to the seizure of the United States Navy intelligence-gathering ship USS Pueblo (AGER-2) by North Korea in January 1968. Undoubtedly the most important development of MAC during
4329-527: The 1980s, flying specially-equipped MC-130s. On 22 May 1990, Twenty-Third Air Force was redesignated as Air Force Special Operations Command ( AFSOC ) and elevated to the major command (MAJCOM) level, with all Air Force special operations aircraft, installations and personnel, to include those "operationally-gained" special operations aircraft, installations and personnel in the Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard , transferred to AFSOC. As
4446-713: The 316 TAW at Langley was inactivated in 1975 with one squadron from the 316th reassigned to the 62d MAW at McChord AFB and the rest of the wing's aircraft reassigned throughout MAC, AFRES and the Air National Guard . MAC also assumed command of Tactical Airlift Wings at Clark AB (374 TAW) in the Pacific and the 513 TAW at RAF Mildenhall and the 435 TAW at Rhein-Main AB in Europe , with these MAC overseas wings becoming tenant units under PACAF and USAFE . During
4563-705: The Air Force until 1974, when Air Force tactical airlift units in the Tactical Air Command (TAC) were merged into MAC to create a unified airlift organization. In 1982, the heritage of the World War II Air Transport Command (ATC) (1942–1948) and the postwar Military Air Transport Service (MATS) (1948–1966) were consolidated with MAC, providing a continuous history of long range airlift. Inactivated on 1 June 1992, most of MAC's personnel and equipment were reassigned to
4680-558: The Bambi bucket, are usually filled by submerging the bucket into lakes, rivers, reservoirs, or portable tanks. Tanks fitted onto helicopters are filled from a hose while the helicopter is on the ground or water is siphoned from lakes or reservoirs through a hanging snorkel as the helicopter hovers over the water source. Helitack helicopters are also used to deliver firefighters, who rappel down to inaccessible areas, and to resupply firefighters. Common firefighting helicopters include variants of
4797-594: The C-141s. Further releases of Americans in Hanoi followed the pattern of the first day. Releases took place on 18 February and on seven dates in March, ending with the final repatriation of the last sixty-seven men on 29 March 1973. With the impending Fall of Saigon and the evacuation of American nationals from South Vietnam in April 1975, the Air Force started evacuation flights out of Tan Son Nhut AB. Operation Babylift ,
Sikorsky S-61R - Misplaced Pages Continue
4914-753: The C-5's existence, and allowed the Air Force to move forward with their proposed upgrade to the C-5B variant. It was found during the Vietnam War that there was a large duplication of aerial port facilities and mission objectives between MAC, Tactical Air Command (TAC) and Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). A study group recommended the consolidation of all tactical airlift forces as a cost-saving measure under MAC. On 1 December 1974, all TAC C-130 Tactical Airlift Wings were reassigned to MAC. In 1975, PACAF and USAFE Tactical Airlift Wings were also reassigned to MAC, thus ending
5031-770: The CH-46 Sea Knight. Notwithstanding the loss of the HRX competition, Sikorsky built an S-61R prototype as a private venture, with its first flight in 1963. During its development, the US Air Force placed an order for the aircraft, which was designated CH-3C using the new system. The Air Force used the CH-3C to recover downed pilots. The CH-3E variant with more powerful engines would follow in 1965. The improved HH-3E variant would follow later, with eight built, and with all 50 CH-3Es converted to this standard. Known as
5148-762: The Chinese top in a model consisting of contrarotating turkey flight feathers as rotor blades, and in 1784, demonstrated it to the French Academy of Sciences . Sir George Cayley , influenced by a childhood fascination with the Chinese flying top, developed a model of feathers, similar to that of Launoy and Bienvenu, but powered by rubber bands. By the end of the century, he had progressed to using sheets of tin for rotor blades and springs for power. His writings on his experiments and models would become influential on future aviation pioneers. Alphonse Pénaud would later develop coaxial rotor model helicopter toys in 1870, also powered by rubber bands. One of these toys, given as
5265-478: The Chinese toy. It was not until the early 1480s, when Italian polymath Leonardo da Vinci created a design for a machine that could be described as an " aerial screw ", that any recorded advancement was made towards vertical flight. His notes suggested that he built small flying models, but there were no indications for any provision to stop the rotor from making the craft rotate. As scientific knowledge increased and became more accepted, people continued to pursue
5382-641: The Common Service Airlift System. New air bases opened at Da Nang AB and Cam Ranh AB in January 1966, and later at Pleiku, Bien Hoa and Phu Cat Air Bases, reducing the need for redistribution. Major unit movements by MAC aircraft from the United States usually required further airlifts to operating areas by in-country transports. Introduction of the C-5 Galaxy transport in the summer of 1970 created new problems of in-country distribution, since C-5 deliveries were massive, and, initially
5499-485: The Defense Mapping Agency in 1972), and Aeromedical Transport Wing (AMTW). In addition to these organizations, MAC supported select USAF Special Operations forces originally organized under MATS on an as-required basis until 1984, when all USAF Special Operations under Tactical Air Command (TAC) were transferred to MAC's 23rd Air Force (23AF). USAF Special Operations forces remained part of MAC until
5616-453: The Gyroplane No. 1 lifted its pilot into the air about 0.6 metres (2 ft) for a minute. The Gyroplane No. 1 proved to be extremely unsteady and required a man at each corner of the airframe to hold it steady. For this reason, the flights of the Gyroplane No. 1 are considered to be the first manned flight of a helicopter, but not a free or untethered flight. That same year, fellow French inventor Paul Cornu designed and built
5733-899: The HH-3F on 26 September 2014, replacing them with the AgustaWestland AW139 in the SAR role Data from Evergreen, Globalsecurity General characteristics Performance Armament Related development Helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors . This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically , to hover , and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes allow helicopters to be used in congested or isolated areas where fixed-wing aircraft and many forms of short take-off and landing ( STOL ) or short take-off and vertical landing ( STOVL ) aircraft cannot perform without
5850-656: The HSS-2 and designing a ramp for the HR3S, Vertol dispatched a YHC-1A (an early prototype of the 107) to the Landing Force Development Center at Marine Corps Base Quantico , for assessment by six Marine pilots. The Marine assessment endorsed the acquisition of the Vertol 107M. On 20 February 1962, the Marines selected the Vertol 107M as the winner of the HRX competition, and it entered Marine service as
5967-562: The Iraqis out of Kuwait. With the end of the Cold War the Air Force reorganized its command structure. A lesson learned from the 1990 Gulf War was that the division of forces as then existed in the USAF led to confusion in actual combat operations. The emphasis on rapid force deployment led the Air Force to reorganize its major commands, with MAC being inactivated on 1 June 1992. Most of
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#17327910287426084-408: The Marines' HUS-1 helicopters . General Pate recommended that the transport version be designated the HR3S (Helicopter, Transport-3-Sikorsky). Funds for aircraft procurement were short in 1958 and progress on the design of the HR3S was slow. Detailed specifications for the new helicopter were published by CNO on 7 March 1960. Four items were specified: While the design of the assault transport version
6201-571: The Martian atmosphere is 100 times thinner than Earth's, its two blades spin at close to 3,000 revolutions a minute, approximately 10 times faster than that of a terrestrial helicopter. In 2017, 926 civil helicopters were shipped for $ 3.68 billion, led by Airbus Helicopters with $ 1.87 billion for 369 rotorcraft, Leonardo Helicopters with $ 806 million for 102 (first three-quarters only), Bell Helicopter with $ 696 million for 132, then Robinson Helicopter with $ 161 million for 305. By October 2018,
6318-651: The Naval Air Reserve. However, some naval aircrews formerly assigned to MATS continued to fly USAF C-130Es for MAC until 1968, when all MAC C-130s were transferred to Tactical Air Command as part of the theater troop carrier mission being reassigned. In addition, MAC continued the missions of several other activities formerly under MATS: the Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service (ARRS); Air Weather Service (ARS); Special Air Mission (SAM); Air Photographic and Charting Service (ACIC) (Reassigned to
6435-523: The S-61 was a rear ramp. The Sikorsky S-61R was developed as a derivative of their S-61/SH-3 Sea King model. It features a substantially revised fuselage with a rear loading ramp, a conventional, though watertight, hull instead of the S-61's boat-hull, and retractable tricycle landing gear. The fuselage layout was used by Sikorsky for the larger CH-53 variants, and by the much later (though similarly sized) S-92 . In 1957, Sikorsky engineers were working on
6552-585: The Special Air Mission (SAM) of providing global airlift, logistics, aerial port and communications for the President , Vice President , and senior government leaders as tasked by the White House and Chief of Staff of the Air Force . The 89th Military Airlift Wing , stationed at Andrews AFB , Maryland carried out this mission on a worldwide basis. When the 1973 October War began,
6669-419: The USAF Special Air Warfare Center (later, USAF Special Operations Force) in the 1960s and early years of the Vietnam War . After 1964, Special Operations were assigned to Tactical Air Command 's Ninth Air Force , and when the war in Vietnam ended, the special operations forces were cut back along with the rest of the military. The ill-fated Operation Eagle Claw Iranian rescue mission in April 1980 led to
6786-462: The United States. Reforger was conducted annually until just after the end of the Cold War . In addition, Operation Bright Star deployment airlifts to Egypt , beginning in 1981 were flown by MAC C-5 and C-141 aircraft. Bright Star was a series of biennial combined and joint training exercises by American and Egyptian forces. These deployments were designed to strengthen ties between the Egyptian and American militaries and demonstrate and enhance
6903-411: The Vietnam War era, the C-141A was found to "bulk out" (e.g., exceeded max cubic foot in the cargo bay) before it "massed out" (e.g., exceeded max gross weight of cargo in the cargo bay), meaning that it often had additional lift capacity that went wasted because the cargo hold was too full. To correct the perceived deficiencies of the original model and utilize the C-141 to the fullest of its capabilities,
7020-439: The Vietnam War was the use of the Lockheed C-141 Starlifter as an airborne ambulance evacuating casualties out of South Vietnam to hospitals in Japan , the Philippines and the United States . Generally, patients requiring hospitalization for thirty days or more were moved to offshore hospitals; others were sometimes evacuated to keep an empty-bed reserve of fifty percent in Vietnam. Military Airlift Command transports carried
7137-399: The ability of the Americans to reinforce their allies in the Middle East in the event of war. In 1983 the United States invaded the tiny island of Grenada . Code-named Operation Urgent Fury , the invasion tasked MAC for planning a military combat operation using its tactical M/ C-130 wings. Though the outcome of the conflict was assured, many problems occurred during the assault. There
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#17327910287427254-550: The aircraft's handling properties under low airspeed conditions—it has proved advantageous to conduct tasks that were previously not possible with other aircraft, or were time- or work-intensive to accomplish on the ground. Today, helicopter uses include transportation of people and cargo, military uses, construction, firefighting, search and rescue , tourism , medical transport, law enforcement, agriculture, news and media , and aerial observation , among others. A helicopter used to carry loads connected to long cables or slings
7371-454: The airlift of some two thousand mixed-blood orphans and children of American servicemen and Vietnamese women, most of them destined for homes in the United States, was initiated. Unfortunately, the Babylift missions were marred by the crash of a MAC C-5A shortly after takeoff on 4 April, killing 155 persons, most of them children. Most of the American and some Vietnamese refugees departed openly aboard military or contract-jet transports, but
7488-420: The airlift, including Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard aircraft and crews who were called to active duty. MAC C-130s were deployed to Saudi Arabia to support the arriving ground forces as they arrived in-country by air and by ship. Fortunately, Iraq made no move against Saudi Arabia, and the United States and an international coalition was able to build up a massive military force that eventually drove
7605-410: The aviation industry; and the turboshaft engine for helicopter use, pioneered in December 1951 by the aforementioned Kaman K-225, finally gave helicopters an engine with a large amount of power and a low weight penalty. Turboshafts are also more reliable than piston engines, especially when producing the sustained high levels of power required by a helicopter. The turboshaft engine was able to be scaled to
7722-435: The blades angle forwards or backwards, or left and right, to make the helicopter move in those directions. The anti-torque pedals are located in the same position as the rudder pedals in a fixed-wing aircraft, and serve a similar purpose, namely to control the direction in which the nose of the aircraft is pointed. Application of the pedal in a given direction changes the pitch of the tail rotor blades, increasing or reducing
7839-677: The building of roads. These operations are referred to as longline because of the long, single sling line used to carry the load. In military service helicopters are often useful for delivery of outsized slung loads that would not fit inside ordinary cargo aircraft: artillery pieces, large machinery (field radars, communications gear, electrical generators), or pallets of bulk cargo. In military operations these payloads are often delivered to remote locations made inaccessible by mountainous or riverine terrain, or naval vessels at sea. In electronic news gathering , helicopters have provided aerial views of some major news stories, and have been doing so, from
7956-406: The cockpit from overhead. The control is called the cyclic because it changes cyclic pitch of the main blades. The result is to tilt the rotor disk in a particular direction, resulting in the helicopter moving in that direction. If the pilot pushes the cyclic forward, the rotor disk tilts forward, and the rotor produces a thrust in the forward direction. If the pilot pushes the cyclic to the side,
8073-410: The cyclic, the collective, the anti-torque pedals, and the throttle. The cyclic control is usually located between the pilot's legs and is commonly called the cyclic stick or just cyclic . On most helicopters, the cyclic is similar to a joystick. However, the Robinson R22 and Robinson R44 have a unique teetering bar cyclic control system and a few helicopters have a cyclic control that descends into
8190-430: The decision to stop C-141 landings at Saigon at nightfall on the twenty-seventh, while C-130 flights continued. On 29 April all US fixed-wing evacuation flights from Tan Son Nhut were stopped due to North Vietnamese artillery fire. MAC subsequently supported Operation New Life (April 1975 – September 1975), the transport to Guam of Vietnamese refugees and their subsequent resettlement. Inherited from MATS, MAC assumed
8307-432: The early 21st century, as well as recently weaponized utilities such as artillery spotting , aerial bombing and suicide attacks . The English word helicopter is adapted from the French word hélicoptère , coined by Gustave Ponton d'Amécourt in 1861, which originates from the Greek helix ( ἕλιξ ), genitive helikos (ἕλῐκος), "helix, spiral, whirl, convolution" and pteron ( πτερόν ) "wing". In
8424-766: The early hours, the two helicopters arrived at the 1967 Paris Air Show at Le Bourget after a 30 hr 46 min flight. The operation needed nine in-flight refuelings. Both helicopters were later lost in combat operations in Southeast Asia in 1969 and 1970. Agusta began production in 1974 and delivered 22 helicopters as replacements for the Grumman HU-16 Albatross used for SAR (Search and Rescue) missions at sea. Italian Air Force AS-61R helicopters performed SAR missions under designation HH-3F in time of peace and C/SAR (Combat SAR) in time of crisis or during military assignment. All helicopters were operated by
8541-433: The entire fleet of 270 in-service C-141As were stretched, adding needed payload volume. These modified aircraft were designated C-141B . Additional 'plug' sections were added before and after the wings, lengthening the fuselage by 23 ft 4 in (7.11 m) and allowing the carriage of 103 litters for wounded, 13 standard pallets, 205 troops, 168 paratroopers , or an equivalent increase in other loads. Also added at this time
8658-931: The establishment of the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) in 1990. Established at the height of the United States' involvement in the Vietnam War , MAC provided long-range strategic airlift from bases in the United States to Military Airlift Support Squadrons (MASS) located on Pacific Air Forces bases in the Pacific AOR. These were: In addition, MAC operated MASS Squadrons on Non-CONUS bases in both Alaska and Hawaii: By 1968, MAC military and contract transports were hauling 150,000 passengers and 45,000 tons of cargo monthly to and from Southeast Asia . At first, MAC transports to Vietnam landed regularly only at Tan Son Nhut AB, necessitating considerable transshipment within Vietnam by
8775-439: The event was taken by Max Skladanowsky , but it remains lost . In 1885, Thomas Edison was given US$ 1,000 (equivalent to $ 34,000 today) by James Gordon Bennett, Jr. , to conduct experiments towards developing flight. Edison built a helicopter and used the paper for a stock ticker to create guncotton , with which he attempted to power an internal combustion engine. The helicopter was damaged by explosions and one of his workers
8892-727: The finest military airlift aircraft in history, not the expensive military mistake as it had been portrayed in the media. Since its introduction in 1970, the C-5A had been plagued by problems. The Air Force claimed to have rectified the problems, but the C-5A was still viewed by the press as an expensive failure. During Nickel Grass, C-5s carried 48% of the total cargo in only 145 of the 567 total missions. The C-5A also carried "outsize" cargo such as M60 Patton tanks, M109 howitzers , ground radar systems, mobile tractor units, CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopters, and A-4 Skyhawk components; cargo that could not fit in smaller aircraft. This performance justified
9009-486: The first half of the 20th century was that the amount of power produced by an engine was not able to overcome the engine's weight in vertical flight. This was overcome in early successful helicopters by using the smallest engines available. When the compact, flat engine was developed, the helicopter industry found a lighter-weight powerplant easily adapted to small helicopters, although radial engines continued to be used for larger helicopters. Turbine engines revolutionized
9126-582: The first returnee moved from the release desk, one of the C-130 flight engineers quickly moved to clear the way, leading the former prisoner by the arm. Taking the cue, the other C-130 crewmen in the same way escorted each man to the waiting C-141. Over and over, returnees expressed their deepest appreciation at having been greeted by a "brother-in-arms" and, in those first few moments of freedom, welcomed home by their own countrymen. A total of 116 Americans were released at Gia Lam that day and all were flown to Clark by
9243-502: The five flights of the 15° Stormo Stefano Cagna and deployed in four bases across Italy. From 1993 15° Stormo performed support missions to evacuate civilians during natural catastrophes and disasters in Italy. 15º Stormo was also engaged with SAR missions in the hostile zones of the several operations abroad where Italian Armed Forces were deployed - Somalia, Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan. The Italian Air Force phased out
9360-795: The globe-wings-arrows emblem of MATS into its shield. Although MATS was under the operational control of the United States Air Force, the 4-digit USAF Military Air Transport Service units at all levels were considered major command (MAJCOM) provisional units by USAF due to MATS being a Department of Defense Unified Command. Under the USAF lineage system, they did not possess a permanent lineage or history and were discontinued upon inactivation. AFCON (HQ Air Force-controlled) units were activated under MAC, to which USAF personnel and equipment formerly assigned to MATS MAJCOM units were reassigned effective 8 January 1966. No formal lineage or history between former MATS MAJCOM units and MAC AFCON units
9477-460: The high operating cost of helicopters cost-effective in ensuring that oil platforms continue to operate. Various companies specialize in this type of operation. NASA developed Ingenuity , a 1.8 kg (4.0 lb) helicopter used to survey Mars (along with a rover). It began service in February 2021 and was retired due to sustained rotor blade damage in January 2024 after 73 sorties. As
9594-480: The idea of vertical flight. In July 1754, Russian Mikhail Lomonosov had developed a small coaxial modeled after the Chinese top but powered by a wound-up spring device and demonstrated it to the Russian Academy of Sciences . It was powered by a spring, and was suggested as a method to lift meteorological instruments. In 1783, Christian de Launoy , and his mechanic , Bienvenu, used a coaxial version of
9711-504: The in-service and stored helicopter fleet of 38,570 with civil or government operators was led Robinson Helicopter with 24.7% followed by Airbus Helicopters with 24.4%, then Bell with 20.5 and Leonardo with 8.4%, Russian Helicopters with 7.7%, Sikorsky Aircraft with 7.2%, MD Helicopters with 3.4% and other with 2.2%. The most widespread model is the piston Robinson R44 with 5,600, then the H125/ AS350 with 3,600 units, followed by
9828-541: The invasion allowed the South Vietnamese forces to defeat the invaders for the moment. By the terms of the 1973 Paris Peace Accords , the cease-fire was to become effective in Vietnam the morning of 28 January 1973, Saigon time. American prisoners in North Vietnam were to be released and the last 23,700 American troops withdrawn from Vietnam within sixty days. Planning for Operation Homecoming ,
9945-603: The invasion. Beginning on 21 April, MAC C-141s began shuttling passengers and cargo between Tan Son Nhut AB and the other main in-country bases, principally Da Nang AB, Bien Hoa AB, and Pleiku AB. Planes and crews were based for one or more nights at Tan Son Nhut and performed two or more days of in-country work before departing for offshore destinations. This C-141 effort permitted the Vietnam Air Force and PACAF C-130s to concentrate on drops, unit hauls, and deliveries to forward locations. The rapid American response to
10062-662: The lack of an airstrip would make transport via fixed-wing aircraft impossible. The use of transport helicopters to deliver troops as an attack force on an objective is referred to as " air assault ". Unmanned aerial systems (UAS) helicopter systems of varying sizes are developed by companies for military reconnaissance and surveillance duties. Naval forces also use helicopters equipped with dipping sonar for anti-submarine warfare , since they can operate from small ships. Oil companies charter helicopters to move workers and parts quickly to remote drilling sites located at sea or in remote locations. The speed advantage over boats makes
10179-544: The last "B" model aircraft in April 1989. A third C-5 variant, the C-5C was developed for transporting large cargo. Two C-5As (68-0213 and 68-0216) were modified to have a larger internal cargo capacity to accommodate large payloads, such as satellites for use by NASA and the National Reconnaissance Office. After the Vietnam War ended, MAC returned to a training role, though it continued to operate
10296-581: The late 1960s. Helicopters have also been used in films, both in front and behind the camera. The largest single non-combat helicopter operation in history was the disaster management operation following the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster . Hundreds of pilots were involved in airdrop and observation missions, making dozens of sorties a day for several months. " Helitack " is the use of helicopters to combat wildland fires . The helicopters are used for aerial firefighting (water bombing) and may be fitted with tanks or carry helibuckets . Helibuckets, such as
10413-555: The limited power did not allow for manned flight. The introduction of the internal combustion engine at the end of the 19th century became the watershed for helicopter development as engines began to be developed and produced that were powerful enough to allow for helicopters able to lift humans. Early helicopter designs utilized custom-built engines or rotary engines designed for airplanes, but these were soon replaced by more powerful automobile engines and radial engines . The single, most-limiting factor of helicopter development during
10530-400: The mission for the return of Americans held by North Vietnam, was given to the Military Airlift Command. C-141s of the 63d Military Airlift Wing , stationed at Norton AFB , California were given responsibility for bringing out the men. On 11 February, two C-130s of TAC's 374th Tactical Airlift Wing flew from Ching Chuan Kang Air Base , Taiwan to Clark AB as primary and spare ships for
10647-485: The monorotor design, and coaxial-rotor , tiltrotor and compound helicopters are also all flying today. Four-rotor helicopters ( quadcopters ) were pioneered as early as 1907 in France, and along with other types of multicopters , have been developed mainly for specialized applications such as commercial unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) due to the rapid expansion of drone racing and aerial photography markets in
10764-699: The more serious cases from Clark AB to the United States, and, in 1966, began making patient pickups in Vietnam. On 30 March 1972, North Vietnam launched an all-out invasion of South Vietnam , which came to be known as the Easter Offensive . The "Vietnamization" policy of the United States had resulted in the vast majority of US ground combat forces been withdrawn from South Vietnam with PACAF's tactical air units also being reduced. Military Airlift Command's C-141 force, accustomed to operating in and out of Vietnam from offshore were utilized for movement of large numbers of men and amounts of materiel to oppose
10881-570: The movement of the support team to Hanoi the next day. A second C-130 left Tan Son Nhut AB carrying members of the international commission to Hanoi to oversee the repatriations. This C-130 arrived at Gia Lam Airport about one hour before the C-130 from Ching Chuan Kang arrived. On the ground at Gia Lam, the C-130 crew met the airport manager and went indoors for tea offered by the North Vietnamese. The first of three C-141s flown in from Clark landed soon after and repatriation began. As
10998-601: The nearby park, the Parco Forlanini. Emmanuel Dieuaide's steam-powered design featured counter-rotating rotors powered through a hose from a boiler on the ground. In 1887 Parisian inventor, Gustave Trouvé , built and flew a tethered electric model helicopter. In July 1901, the maiden flight of Hermann Ganswindt 's helicopter took place in Berlin-Schöneberg; this was probably the first heavier-than-air motor-driven flight carrying humans. A movie covering
11115-609: The new Air Mobility Command (AMC), with a smaller portion divided between U.S. Air Forces in Europe (USAFE), Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) and the newly created Air Education and Training Command (AETC). The heritage of MAC (and its predecessor organizations) was officially consolidated into AMC in 2016. MAC was the USAF successor organization to the Department of Defense 's Military Air Transport Service (MATS), with MATS having been disestablished on 8 January 1966. MAC's emblem reflected its predecessor's history by incorporating
11232-464: The nose to pitch down, with a resultant increase in airspeed and loss of altitude. Aft cyclic will cause the nose to pitch up, slowing the helicopter and causing it to climb. Increasing collective (power) while maintaining a constant airspeed will induce a climb while decreasing collective will cause a descent. Coordinating these two inputs, down collective plus aft cyclic or up collective plus forward cyclic, will result in airspeed changes while maintaining
11349-653: The operation's vital contribution to the war effort, Reader's Digest would call it "The Airlift That Saved Israel." The airlift taught the Air Force many lessons, large and small. With refueling denied for MAC airlift flights bound for Israel by France and West Germany , Lajes Field in the Azores had to be used instead. The Air Force established an immediate requirement for aerial refueling to become standard practice in MAC so that its airlifters could operate without forward bases, if necessary. The C-5 Galaxy proved to be one of
11466-485: The planes could land only at Cam Ranh Bay. Eventually, however, C-5s could unload at Tan Son Nhut and elsewhere. Primarily, MAC transports carried high-value cargo such as aircraft and equipment parts, while MAC civilian-contract flights transported passengers to and from the combat zone. In the winter of 1965–66, MAC conducted Operation "Blue Light," the deployment of elements of the 25th Infantry Division from Hickam AFB , Hawaii to Pleiku , South Vietnam . During
11583-411: The power normally required to be diverted for the tail rotor to be applied fully to the main rotors, increasing the aircraft's power efficiency and lifting capacity. There are several common configurations that use the counter-rotating effect to benefit the rotorcraft: Tip jet designs let the rotor push itself through the air and avoid generating torque. The number, size and type of engine(s) used on
11700-467: The replacement of wing sections. During the early 1980s, the C-5A force was retrofitted with a new wing to strengthen the aircraft and allow it to carry additional cargo loads. Also, a shortage of airlift capability was addressed with the introduction of the C-5B, The first C-5B incorporating significant improvements such as strengthened wings and updated avionics was delivered to Altus Air Force Base in January 1986. C-5B production concluded with delivery of
11817-436: The rotor disk tilts to that side and produces thrust in that direction, causing the helicopter to hover sideways. The collective pitch control or collective is located on the left side of the pilot's seat with a settable friction control to prevent inadvertent movement. The collective changes the pitch angle of all the main rotor blades collectively (i.e. all at the same time) and independently of their position. Therefore, if
11934-406: The rotor in cruise, which allows its rotation to be slowed down , thus increasing the maximum speed of the aircraft. The Lockheed AH-56A Cheyenne diverted up to 90% of its engine power to a pusher propeller during forward flight. There are three basic flight conditions for a helicopter: hover, forward flight and the transition between the two. Hovering is the most challenging part of flying
12051-422: The rotor throughout normal flight. The rotor system, or more simply rotor , is the rotating part of a helicopter that generates lift . A rotor system may be mounted horizontally, as main rotors are, providing lift vertically, or it may be mounted vertically, such as a tail rotor, to provide horizontal thrust to counteract torque from the main rotors. The rotor consists of a mast, hub and rotor blades. The mast
12168-418: The size of the helicopter being designed, so that all but the lightest of helicopter models are powered by turbine engines today. Special jet engines developed to drive the rotor from the rotor tips are referred to as tip jets . Tip jets powered by a remote compressor are referred to as cold tip jets, while those powered by combustion exhaust are referred to as hot tip jets. An example of a cold jet helicopter
12285-483: The skies. Since helicopters can achieve a unique aerial view, they are often used in conjunction with police on the ground to report on suspects' locations and movements. They are often mounted with lighting and heat-sensing equipment for night pursuits. Military forces use attack helicopters to conduct aerial attacks on ground targets. Such helicopters are mounted with missile launchers and miniguns . Transport helicopters are used to ferry troops and supplies where
12402-479: The tail rotor, such as the ducted fan (called Fenestron or FANTAIL ) and NOTAR . NOTAR provides anti-torque similar to the way a wing develops lift through the use of the Coandă effect on the tail boom. The use of two or more horizontal rotors turning in opposite directions is another configuration used to counteract the effects of torque on the aircraft without relying on an anti-torque tail rotor. This allows
12519-414: The theater troop carrier mission as it had existed since the beginning of World War II. As a result, MAC became the controlling Major Command for C-130 wings at Little Rock and Pope AFB and the 433 TAW at Kelly AFB became a MAC tenant unit. With the impending arrival of the 1st Tactical Fighter Wing (1 TFW) from MacDill AFB and their standup of USAF's first F-15 Eagle aircraft at Langley AFB ,
12636-448: The throttle is to maintain enough engine power to keep the rotor RPM within allowable limits so that the rotor produces enough lift for flight. In single-engine helicopters, the throttle control is a motorcycle-style twist grip mounted on the collective control, while dual-engine helicopters have a power lever for each engine. A compound helicopter has an additional system for thrust and, typically, small stub fixed wings . This offloads
12753-417: The thrust produced by the tail rotor and causing the nose to yaw in the direction of the applied pedal. The pedals mechanically change the pitch of the tail rotor altering the amount of thrust produced. Helicopter rotors are designed to operate in a narrow range of RPM . The throttle controls the power produced by the engine, which is connected to the rotor by a fixed ratio transmission. The purpose of
12870-572: The vertical flight he had envisioned. Steam power was popular with other inventors as well. In 1877, the Italian engineer, inventor and aeronautical pioneer Enrico Forlanini developed an unmanned helicopter powered by a steam engine . It rose to a height of 13 meters (43 feet), where it remained for 20 seconds, after a vertical take-off from a park in Milan . Milan has dedicated its city airport to Enrico Forlanini, also named Linate Airport , as well as
12987-504: The worldwide route structure to support United States interests around the world. With the tactical airlift mission now part of MAC, emphasis on tactical operations was increased. While C-130s were assigned an increased logistical role C-141 and C-5 crews were given training in tactical procedures as more emphasis was placed on deployment. In addition to the forces in the Pacific, MAC operated air transshipment facilities on USAFE bases in
13104-558: Was a boom receptacle for inflight refueling which gave the C-141 truly intercontinental range. The conversion program took place between 1977 and 1982, with first delivery taking place in December 1979. It was estimated that this stretching program was the equivalent of buying 90 new aircraft, in terms of increased capacity. During its development phase, problems with the C-5 had been discovered, including structural problems that required
13221-673: Was a dependable workhorse for the US Coast Guard from the late 1960s until it was phased out in the late 1990s. All USCG HH-3Fs were replaced by the HH-60J Jayhawk and those aircraft have since been upgraded to the MH-60T Jayhawk version. Between 31 May and 1 June 1967, two HH-3Es of the United States Air Force made the first nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean by helicopter. Departing from New York in
13338-486: Was badly burned. Edison reported that it would take a motor with a ratio of three to four pounds per horsepower produced to be successful, based on his experiments. Ján Bahýľ , a Slovak inventor, adapted the internal combustion engine to power his helicopter model that reached a height of 0.5 meters (1.6 feet) in 1901. On 5 May 1905, his helicopter reached 4 meters (13 feet) in altitude and flew for over 1,500 meters (4,900 feet). In 1908, Edison patented his own design for
13455-616: Was confusion among the initial assault force of special operations MC-130s and conventional airlifter C-130s, confusion that resulted in a lightly armed force of US Army Ranger headquarters troops parachuting onto the airfield at Point Salines without their heavier weapons. Once the airfield was secured, C-141s began landing with 82nd Airborne Division paratroopers to reinforce the Rangers. During Christmas Week 1989, MAC transports dropped paratroopers onto key military points in Panama after
13572-468: Was ever made. With the establishment of MAC by the USAF, plans were also made to discontinue the role of the United States Navy within the new command. MATS' shore-based naval air transport squadrons (VR) were assigned back to the Navy upon its inaction, most being converted to organic Operational Support Airlift (OSA) roles for the Navy and renamed as fleet logistics support squadrons, primarily residing in
13689-440: Was in final review, the HSS-2 was being tested. Problems were encountered with its stability and the main transmission was limited to 2,000 horsepower, even though at peak power the engines could produce more. In July 1959, before the selection of the HR3S, Vertol Aircraft Corporation had given presentations to the Marines of their new model, the 107A , and in late March 1960, with Sikorsky engineers still wrestling with problems in
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