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118-541: First flown on 24 April 1962 and entering service during the following year, the Wilga has evolved through many ever-improving versions during its continuous production from 1962 to 2006. The type was largely used by civil operators; those military air services that did fly the type typically used it as a trainer and liaison aircraft. In excess of 1,000 aircraft were produced prior to European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) announcing on their website that production of

236-610: A co-operation agreement, involving the latter conducting the marketing of Polish general aviation aircraft such as the Wilga, in the Brazilian market in exchange for the sale of Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia regional airliners to Poland. During September 2001, it was announced that Poland had finalised an agreement with the multinational aerospace conglomerate European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) to acquire 51 per cent of PZL Warszawa-Okecie for 28.5 million zloty ($ 6.74 million), which later rose up to 85 per cent ownership of

354-444: 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

472-417: 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

590-404: A font similar to Helvetica Black . The logo colours were reflected in the standard Airbus aircraft livery in each period. The EADS logo between 2000 and 2010 combined the logos of the merged companies, DaimlerChrysler Aerospace AG (a four-ray star) and Aérospatiale-Matra (a curved arrow), after which these elements were removed and a new font with 3D shading was chosen. This font was retained in

708-463: 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

826-405: 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

944-510: 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,

1062-416: 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

1180-402: A lack of internal resources and high associated costs. At the time, it was stated that proposals to transfer Wilga production to North America were being evaluated. According to aerospace publication Flight International , the programme's cessation was largely a surprise to the company's own international dealers, many of which have reported a relatively strong demand for the four-seat aircraft at

1298-418: A light observation platform. Data from The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft General characteristics Performance Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era EADS Airbus SE ( / ˈ ɛər b ʌ s / AIR -buss ; French: [ɛʁbys] ; German: [ˈɛːɐ̯bʊs] ; Spanish: [ˈejɾβus] )

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1416-513: A maximum of 225 kW (300 hp), along with an AlliedSignal - Bendix avionics suite and a new wing, the latter of which offered increased fuel capacity and endurance, as well with aerodynamic refinements, such as fairings around the undercarriage. In May 2004, Canadian-based company Sealand Aviation demonstrated an amphibious version of the Wilga 2000 in Anchorage . During July 1995, PZL and Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer signed

1534-593: A model range that parallels the commercial aircraft offered by the company. Following the entry of the 737-based Boeing Business Jet , Airbus joined the business jet market with the A319 Corporate Jet in 1997. Although the term Airbus Corporate Jet was initially used only for the A319CJ, it is now often used for all models, including VIP widebodies. As of December 2008, 121 corporate and private jets are operating, and 164 aircraft have been ordered. The company

1652-657: A number of other plants in different European locations, reflecting its foundation as a consortium. For aircraft assembled in Europe, aircraft parts often move between the different factories and the assembly lines via the use of the Beluga and BelugaXL , a fleet modified aircraft capable of carrying entire sections of fuselage. For aircraft assembled in China and the United States, the parts needed to build an aircraft meet in

1770-477: 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

1888-494: 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

2006-520: A second production line. North America plays a crucial role for Airbus, both in terms of aircraft sales and suppliers. Of the approximately 5,300 Airbus jetliners sold worldwide, 2,000 are ordered by North American customers. These orders span Airbus' entire product line, from the compact A318 to the massive A380, accommodating 107 to 565 passengers. Notably, US contractors contribute significantly, supporting around 120,000 jobs and generating an estimated $ 5.5 billion in business. For instance, one variant of

2124-598: A simplified joint-stock company . In 2006, EADS acquired BAE Systems ' remaining 20% of Airbus. EADS NV was renamed Airbus Group NV and SE in 2014 and 2015, respectively. Due to the dominance of the Airbus SAS division within Airbus Group SE, the executive committees of the parent and subsidiary companies were aligned in January 2017, but the companies were kept as separate legal entities. The holding company

2242-704: A single European location where they are loaded onto ships for the final journey to the assembly line. Airbus opened an assembly plant for the A320 family of aircraft in Tianjin , China in 2009. Airbus started constructing a $ 350 million component manufacturing plant in Harbin , China in July 2009, which now employs over 1,000 people. It was fully operational by early 2011, the 30,000 square metre plant manufactures composite parts and assembles composite work-packages for

2360-441: 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

2478-417: 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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2596-611: A value of the stake at "approximately €2.0 billion." Lagardère was to reduce its holding by an identical amount. However, Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations , a unit of the French government, acquired 2.25 % of EADS. At issue, as a result, is the fact that the German and French shareholdings were now in imbalance. On 30 August 2006, shortly after the stock price decline caused by the A380 delivery delays, more than 5 % of EADS stock

2714-522: Is a European aerospace corporation. The company's primary business is the design and manufacturing of commercial aircraft but it also has separate defence and space and helicopter divisions. Airbus has long been the world's leading helicopter manufacturer and, in 2019, also emerged as the world's biggest manufacturer of airliners. The company was incorporated as the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company ( EADS ) in

2832-429: 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

2950-452: 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

3068-568: Is also a 10% owner of Dassault Aviation , which builds the Falcon family of smaller business jets. Airbus Defence and Space markets and either builds or modifies new aircraft for military use. Airbus became increasingly interested in developing and selling to the military aviation market in the late 1990s. It embarked on two main fields of development: aerial refuelling with the Airbus A310 MRTT (Multi-Role Tanker Transport) and later

3186-452: 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

3304-401: Is constructed of duralumin , both riveted and corrugated , which reportedly increases the strength and durability of the aircraft's low-mass semi- monocoque fuselage. The rectangular single-spar wing is fitted with slotted flaps and anti-stall slats . The four-seat cabin is fitted with two large side doors, opening upwards to facilitate large loads, and rapid entry/exit. The main wheels of

3422-547: 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

3540-725: Is led by CEO Guillaume Faury and is a component of the EURO STOXX 50 stock market index . Since its inception in 2000, the company's shares have been listed on the Paris Stock Exchange , the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the four regional Spanish stock exchanges (including the Bolsa de Madrid ). The current company is the product of consolidation in the European aerospace industry, tracing back to

3658-766: Is longer and wider than the fuselage used on the A300, A310, A330, and A340. A second narrow-body jet was added to the product list in 2018 when Airbus gained control of the Bombardier CSeries programme, and rebranded it as the A220. The jet offers five-abreast seating compared to the six-abreast seating on the A320. The company is also a 50% owner of the ATR joint venture which builds the ATR 42 and ATR 72 regional aircraft. Airbus Corporate Jets markets and modifies new aircraft for private and corporate customers. It has

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3776-678: 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

3894-411: 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

4012-552: The Airbus A330 MRTT , and tactical airlift with the Airbus A400M Atlas . The company has also continued to market and assemble some military aircraft previously offered by the companies that formed Airbus, notably CASA . The A310 and A330-based MRTT aircraft are conversions of civilian airliners. The aircraft are called multi-role tanker transports because, in addition to their aerial refuelling capability,

4130-820: The Airbus C295 , a smaller tactical transport aircraft, that was designed and initially manufactured by the Spanish aerospace company CASA . The company is also a 50% owner of the ArianeGroup joint venture which builds the Ariane 5 space launch vehicle, a 46% owner of the Eurofighter joint venture which builds the Typhoon fighter jet, a 42.5% owner of the Panavia Aircraft joint venture which built

4248-572: 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

4366-535: 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

4484-527: 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

4602-671: The PZL-104 Wilga 35 , made its first flight, it subsequently entered mass production as well. The most numerous variant of Wilga 35 was the utility plane Wilga 35A, while most others were built in small numbers or remained as prototypes alone. During 1979, the Wilga 80 variant went into production, which was an improved model specifically certified to operate in the US market. During the late 1990s, California-based Wilga dealer Terra-San, promoted their own self-developed special mission variant of

4720-615: The PZL-104 Wilga Mark 3 variant, which first flew on 31 December 1965. The new engine was more powerful but it spoilt the previously clean and aerodynamic fuselage lines, originally designed for a flat engine; nonetheless, the new variant was successful. Due in combination to the power of the AI-14R engine and the STOL capability of the airframe, an extraordinary high rate of climb of 11 m/s (2,165 fpm) (maximum) under minimal load

4838-824: The Tiger attack helicopter, along with militarized versions of the H125, H135, H145, H160, H175, H215, and H225. The company is also a 62.5% owner of the NHIndustries joint venture, which builds the NH90 military utility helicopter. Revenues by division, as of 2023: Commercial aircraft generated 74% of total revenue for the Airbus group in 2018 and 72% in 2023. The key trends for Airbus Commercial Aircraft (excluding Defence, Space and Helicopters) are as of each financial year ending December 31: The division Airbus Defence and Space

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4956-722: The Tornado fighter jet, a 37.5% owner of the MBDA joint venture which builds missiles, and a 10% owner of Dassault Aviation which builds the Rafale fighter jet, and previously, the Mirage 2000 fighter. Airbus Helicopters markets and builds new rotorcraft for civilian and military use. The division was founded formed in 1992 as the Eurocopter Group, through the merger of the helicopter divisions of Aérospatiale and DASA (two of

5074-499: 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

5192-485: The landing gear are attached to an articulated , conventional fixed undercarriage, complete with pneumatic shock absorbers and paired with a heavy-duty sprung tail wheel, which was attached to a hook for towing gliders. Early aircraft were typically powered by the Soviet-designed Ivchenko AI-14 R radial engine , which was capable of generating up to 260 hp (190 kW); notably,

5310-667: The A320, making it easier to train crew. The success led Airbus to introduce a lengthened version, the A321 in 1993, along with the shorter A319 in 1995 and the even shorter A318 in 2002. In 2016, Airbus re-engineered the narrow-body family, in a programme called the A320neo ( new engine option). The wide-body programme led to the introduction of the four-engine A340 in 1991 and the twinjet A330 in 1992. At that time, Airbus wanted to offer four-engined jet aircraft to allow for longer transatlantic and transpacific flights. However, during

5428-648: The A350 XWB, A320 families and future Airbus programmes. Harbin Aircraft Industry Group Corporation, Hafei Aviation Industry Company Ltd, AviChina Industry & Technology and other Chinese partners hold an 80% stake in the plant while Airbus controls the remaining 20%. In 2022, the Tianjin plant finished upgrading works to allow for production of A321. In 2023, the Tianjin final assembly plant started construction to be expanded with

5546-830: The A380 boasts 51% American content in terms of work share value. Plans for a Mobile, Alabama aircraft assembly plant were unveiled by Airbus CEO Fabrice Brégier from the Mobile Convention Centre on 2 July 2012. The plans include a $ 600 million factory at the Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley for the assembly of the A220 , A319, A320 and A321 aircraft. It could employ up to 1,000 full-time workers when operational. Construction began on 8 April 2013, and became operable by 2015, producing up to 50 aircraft per year by 2017. The key trends of Airbus SE are (as of each financial year ending December 31): In October 2005

5664-489: The Airbus 380 programme would cost the company 4.8 billion euros in lost earnings in 2010, EADS shares, traded on the Paris arm of Euronext, were suspended after they surpassed the 10 % loss limit. Trading resumed later in the day with the one-day loss holding at 7 %. Helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors . This allows

5782-558: 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

5900-652: The British Ministry of Defence warned European politicians to stop, as it saw it, interfering in the corporate governance of EADS. The former UK Defence Procurement Minister Lord Drayson hinted that the UK government, a major customer for EADS, may withhold future contracts. "As a key customer, we see it as important for EADS to move in a direction that is free from political interference." On 4 April 2006, DaimlerChrysler announced its intention to reduce its shareholding from 30 % to 22.5 %. The company placed

6018-762: 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

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6136-478: 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

6254-453: 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

6372-571: 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,

6490-459: The PZL-104 type certificate and other intellectual property to the new Draco Aviation run by Mike Patey and Johannes von Thadden , with the intention of producing an updated version with a turbine engine. The PZL-104 Wilga is a high-wing cantilever short-takeoff-and-landing (STOL) monoplane utility aircraft , featuring all-aluminium construction and a conventional layout. The main cabin

6608-534: The Wilga 2000 towards the North American law enforcement market, and that it was working with distributors to develop a capable airborne surveillance capability for the type, including forward-looking infrared (FLIR) and colour cameras. For a time during the 2000s, a Canadian aircraft supplier was reportedly seriously considered building the Wilga aircraft for the nation's Air Cadet league, observing its complete compliance with glider training requirements and

6726-457: The Wilga 80. This customised derivative, which was marketed as an alternative to helicopters in the law enforcement role, was furnished with a Wescam -built gimbal -mounted camera and infrared imaging system fixed to the exterior of the fuselage's centre-line. In January 1996, it was announced that PZL intended to offer an armed version of the Wilga, intended to perform border patrol and counter-insurgency missions. The basic configuration of

6844-474: The Wilga would cease in 2006. The PZL-104 was designed for robust use in sports and civil aviation, with a strong emphasis on glider -towing and parachute training. On 24 April 1962, the prototype of the initial Wilga Mark 1 variant made the type's first flight, powered by an existing Polish 220 hp (160 kW) horizontally-opposed engine , the PZL WN-6RB. The subsequent flight test programme with

6962-572: The aircraft can also be configured for troop transport, medevac, and cargo transportation. The A400M Atlas is a four-engine, turboprop-powered tactical transport aircraft. The A400M is sized between the American-made C-130 and the C-17 transports, and while it can carry heavier loads than the C-130, its turboprop engines allow it to retain the ability to use rough landing strips. The A400M

7080-473: The aircraft to be a successful design, the WN-6RB engine that powered the model was not fully developed and thus, the aircraft did not enter serial production. In response, the decision was taken to convert the assembly line to instead manufacture the improved Wilga C and Wilga Mark 3 configurations instead. On 30 December 1963, the Wilga C (or Wilga Mark 2 Subvariant C ) made its first flight; this variant which

7198-486: The aircraft was principally changed by the addition of a pair of under-wing hardpoints capable of carrying gun pods , along with both unguided or guided rockets . In 1996, it was announced that PZL had developed an improved version of the aircraft, known as the PZL-104MA Wilga 2000 . The Wilga 2000 family benefitted from various improvements, it adopted an American Lycoming O-540 engine, capable of generating

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7316-661: The aircraft's development, new rules extended twinjet operations to 120 minutes in 1986, and 180 minutes in 1989. Although the new rules hurt sales of the A340, they greatly benefited the A330 . Production of the A340 ended in 2011, while the A330 would be re-engineered as the A330neo ( new engine option ) in 2018. The world's largest passenger airliner was introduced by Airbus in 2005; the A380

7434-550: 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

7552-466: 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

7670-435: 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

7788-677: 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

7906-406: 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,

8024-443: The company operates major offices and assembly plants in France , Germany , Spain , and the United Kingdom , along with more recent additions in Canada , China , and the United States . Airbus' headquarters are legally registered in Leiden , Netherlands, but daily management is conducted from the company's main office located in Blagnac , France. The SE in its corporate name stands for Societas Europaea . The company

8142-405: The company. At the time, EADS commented that it intended to market the company's current products, including the Wilga, as well as retaining the workforce at the current numbers and promising to finance the costs of modernising the Warsaw-based manufacturer's facilities. According to Ignacio Alonso Recarte, senior vice-president commercial for EADS-CASA's military transport aircraft division, the firm

8260-744: 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 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

8378-410: 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

8496-507: The earlier Soviet engine. Other engines from other manufacturers have also been adapted to power the type. Regardless of the engine fitted, fuel is primarily housed within a pair of 195 L (43 imp gal; 52 US gal) fuel tanks, which were located within the aircraft's wings. The Wilga has been widely used in civil aviation circles; it has often been tasked with performing various duties, such as touring, observation, glider towing, parachute training and bush flying. In Poland,

8614-507: The engine rotates in the opposite direction to North American standards. The Al-14R would normally drive a two-bladed composite wooden propeller, which was strengthened with bonded metal sections fitted along their leading edges . The newest models of the Wilga have been furnished with fully metal propellers and are powered by the North American Continental O-470 engine, which rotate in the opposite direction to

8732-439: 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

8850-486: 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

8968-561: The formation of the Airbus Industrie GIE consortium in 1970. In 2000, the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) NV was established. In addition to other subsidiaries pertaining to security and space activities, EADS owned 100% of the pre-existing Eurocopter SA , established in 1992, as well as 80% of Airbus Industrie GIE. In 2001, Airbus Industrie GIE was reorganised as Airbus SAS ,

9086-426: The founding companies of Airbus). Airbus Helicopters is the foremost player in the turbine helicopter industry both in terms of revenues and deliveries. The division's civilian products include the single engine H125 and H130 , the light twin engine H135 and H145 , the medium twin engine H155 and H160 , the super medium twin engine H175 , and the heavy twin engine H215 and H225 . Military products include

9204-574: 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 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,

9322-460: 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

9440-480: 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

9558-504: 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

9676-662: 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

9794-581: 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

9912-555: 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

10030-506: The logos of Airbus Group NV (2014–2015) and Airbus Group SE (2015–2017), then Airbus SE: The Airbus product line started with the A300 in 1972, the world's first wide-body , twinjet aircraft. The aircraft greatly benefited from the 1976 introduction of the ETOPS 90 rule, which allowed twinjet aircraft to operate up to 90 minutes (increased from 60 minutes) away from the nearest airport. Under

10148-425: The major structural elements and sub-assemblies which had been deemed to have been successful, such as the structure of the wings, were retained from the initial design, the redeveloped aircraft featured a completely new fuselage that was both slimmer and considerably strengthened beyond its prior counterpart; this new airframe also offered an excellent rear view aspect for the crew during glider towing operations, while

10266-601: 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

10384-412: The need to procure further aircraft at that time. However, the company was unable to acquire the necessary support of EADS to proceed on the proposed Canadian manufacturing venture involving the Wilga. During November 2006, production of the Wilga came to end following a decision by EADS to reduce its presence within the civil aviation market, the firm also attributed the termination to be a consequence of

10502-688: The new rule, the A300 was able to operate over the North Atlantic , the Bay of Bengal , and the Indian Ocean more efficiently than the trijets and four-engined jet aircraft offered by competitors. They then went on to make the Airbus A310 which is also a wide-body aircraft. Airbus had identified a demand for an aircraft smaller than the Airbus A300 , the first twin-jet wide-body. It

10620-464: 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

10738-411: 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

10856-422: The prototype exposed a number of design faults, the most serious of which was the airframe's excessive weight and a rear view restriction that prevented the crew from easily seeing a towed glider. Accordingly, an airframe review was performed by the design team that resulted in the thorough redevelopment of the aircraft, led by Polish aeronautical engineers Bronisław Żurakowski and Andrzej Frydrychewicz . While

10974-559: The rapid expansion of drone racing and aerial photography markets in 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

11092-436: 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

11210-406: 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

11328-422: 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

11446-435: The side doors were also re-engineered to open upwards for better aero observation or parachute jump sorties. If required, the aircraft could be flown with the doors open. It also featured an air ambulance cabin conversion capability. On 1 August 1963, the revised aircraft, which was designated as the PZL-104 Wilga Mark 2 , conducted its first flight. While testing validated the qualities of the Wilga 2's airframe and had proved

11564-418: 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

11682-483: 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

11800-479: 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

11918-448: 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

12036-417: 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

12154-400: The time. Throughout its production life, in excess of 1,000 Wilgas of all types had been constructed, the vast majority (reportedly around 935) of these were built to the Wilga 35 and 80 standards. These numbers mean that the PZL-104 has been produced in greater quantity than any other Polish aircraft design in history. In September 2024, Airbus Poland announced that they had agreed to transfer

12272-624: The type has formed the longtime backbone contingent of the Polish Aero Club , who operate the aircraft in a basic configuration for flight training. Additionally, a number of Polish pilots that have flown Wilgas have been awarded several prizes in the FAI World Rally Flying and Precision Flying Championships across a wide range of dates, from 1978 to 2006. In military service, the type has been typically used to perform liaison and recovery missions, as well as being used as

12390-572: 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

12508-587: The year 2000 through the merger of the French Aérospatiale - Matra , the German DASA and Spanish CASA . The new entity subsequently acquired full ownership of its subsidiary, Airbus Industrie GIE , a joint venture of European aerospace companies originally incorporated in 1970 to develop and produce a wide-body aircraft to compete with American-built airliners. EADS rebranded itself as Airbus SE in 2015. Reflecting its multinational origin,

12626-404: Was a dedicated export model of the type for Indonesia powered by the imported North American -certified 225 hp (168 kW) horizontally opposed Continental O-470 engine. To address the immaturity of the original WN-6RB engine, the design team decided to adopt an in-production radial engine , the 260 hp (190 kW) Ivchenko AI-14 R; furnished with this engine, the aircraft became

12744-517: Was a four-engine aircraft with two full-length passenger seating decks. Intended to challenge the dominance of the Boeing 747 in the long-haul market, the A380 was ultimately a money-losing venture for Airbus due to large development costs and limited sales, and production ended in January 2022. The A350 , a wide-body, twinjet aircraft was introduced in 2013. The A350 was the first Airbus aircraft made largely from carbon-fiber-reinforced polymers . It

12862-413: Was a partner in the Eurofighter consortium as well as in the missile systems provider MBDA . Airbus Helicopters , formerly known as Eurocopter, is a helicopter manufacturing and support company. The 10 largest shareholder of Airbus in early 2024 were: The corporate management of Airbus is: Airbus has several final assembly lines for different models and markets. These are: Airbus, however, has

12980-486: 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

13098-593: Was developed for European NATO members, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain, Turkey, and the UK, as an alternative to relying on foreign aircraft. During development, the A400M programme faced delays and cost overruns; with customer nations stepping in offer additional subsidies. The first aircraft was delivered to the French Air Force in 2013, and by 2023, more than 100 aircraft had been built. The Defence and Space division also market and assembles

13216-666: Was formed in January 2014 as part of the group restructuring from the former EADS divisions Airbus Military , Astrium , and Cassidian (composed of Cassidian Electronics – develops and manufactures sensors, radars, avionics and electronic warfare systems for military and security applications, Cassidian Air Systems – develops manned and unmanned aerial systems (UAVs), mission avionics, electronic defence and warning systems and Cassidian Systems – provides global security systems such as command & control, lead system integration, TETRA and TETRAPOL communication systems for public safety, industry, transportation and defence. This line of business

13334-470: Was given its present name in April 2017. Aérospatiale (est. 1970) Matra (est. 1937) Daimler-Benz (aerospace unit) (est. 1926) Dornier Flugzeugwerke (est. 1922) Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB) (est. 1968) CASA (Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA) (est. 1923) The logos of Airbus Industrie GIE and Airbus SAS displayed a stylised turbine symbol, redolent of a jet engine , and

13452-514: Was manufactured from 1981-1998. Building on its success with the A300, Airbus worked to develop a narrow-body aircraft along with additional wide-body aircraft based on the A300. The narrow-body efforts led to the launch of the A320 in 1987, which was and continues to be a major commercial success. The A320 was the first commercial jet to use a digital fly-by-wire control system. All Airbus aircraft developed since then have cockpit systems similar to

13570-623: Was possible. One of a few remaining flaws was that the engine was relatively uneconomical to operate. The Wilga 32 was an improved small-series export variant of the type, powered by a Continental flat engine, which was also locally produced in Indonesia as the "Gelatik". After completing an initial batch of 13 Wilga 3s, there were some improvements made to the model, most notably the landing gear base being increased from 2.12 to 2.83 m (7.0 to 9.3 ft) to improve stability during takeoff runs. On 29 June 1967, an improved model, designated as

13688-458: Was reportedly purchased by the Russian state-owned Vneshtorgbank , bringing its share to nearly 6 %. In December 2007, Vneshtorgbank sold EADS shares to another state-controlled bank, Vnesheconombank . EADS shares were to be delivered by Vneshekonombank to the charter capital of JSC United Aircraft Corporation in 2008. On 3 October 2006, shortly after EADS admitted further delays in

13806-510: Was studying options for marketing PZL's existing aircraft. During 2003, negotiations were underway on the topic of creating an integrated light aircraft company between EADS-CASA and EADS-SOCATA , under which a combined market for general aviation and business aircraft was to incorporate EADS PZL's own range while the Polish factory would produce elements of all SOCATA-built aircraft. In early 2004, EADS CASA openly declared its intentions to market

13924-408: Was the first one in the world to begin field tests with TETRA Enhanced Data Service (TEDS). The Airbus Military division, which manufactured tanker, transport and mission aircraft; Airbus Helicopters , the world's largest helicopter supplier; Astrium , provided systems for aerial, land, naval and civilian security applications including Ariane , Galileo and Cassidian . Through Cassidian, EADS

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