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1941 |
This airplane inventor moved from the Ukraine to the
United States. He invents the first useful helicopter. This helicopter can
be controlled to fly safely forwards and backwards. It can move up and down.
It can also move sideways. It stays safely balanced during flight.
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1944 |
This young helicopter inventor from the United States makes the first helicopter with all metal rotorblades. These rotorblades are very stiff. They help the helicopter fly at speeds much faster than before.
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1945 |
Piasecki Helicopter company successfully builds the "Flying Banana" helicopter. For the next few years it is the only large helicopter being flown.
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1946 |
Working for the Bell Aircraft company, this inventor designs the Bell Model 47 helicopter.
It is the first helicopter to have a full bubble canopy.
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1949 |
Stanley Hiller is the pilot for the first helicopter flight across the United States. He is flying a helicopter that he invented. It is called the Hiller 360.
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1955 |
The XV-3 is a rotorcraft. It is an experimental aircraft. That means it was built to make sure that its new design would safely fly.
It can take off and land like a helicopter. It can also fly like an airplane. This kind of rotorcraft is a new idea.
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1956 |
Stanley Hiller, Jr. designs the Rotorcycle XROE-1. It
can be put together in just a few minutes without tools. It can fly 80 kilometers
per hour (50 miles per hour). |
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1958 |
His rotorcraft company makes the world's first helicopter that has a boat hull. It can land on the water.
It can take off from the water. It can also float on the water.
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1959 |
The X-18 is an experimental aircraft. It is designed by Stanley Hiller, Jr. The X-18 is a tilt wing rotorcraft.
Its wings can tilt the rotors up. This way the X-18 can fly like a helicopter. Its wings can also move the rotors so that
they work like propellers on an airplane. It is the world's first Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) aircraft ever made and flown.
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