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Rotorcraft & V/STOL History Calendar

2013

Bell Model 207 Sioux Scout (1963)

Photo: Bell Helicopter Textron

Copyright © 2013 AHS International

The Aviation Art of David Gibbings

Cornu Bréguet-Richet Gyroplane No.1 Oehmichen No.2

1907 1907 1922
Retired Westland Flight Test Engineer

Pescara No.3 Asboth AH-4 Bréguet-Dorand Gyroplane Laboratoire

1923 1928 1935

Focke-Wulf Fw 61 Weir W.6 Flettner Fl 282 “Kolibri “

1937 1939 1940

Artwork courtesy of David Gibbings

Copyright © 2013 AHS International

 December 2012 February
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30 31 1 2 3 4 5
New Year’s Day

“Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever.”

– Napoleon Bonaparte 1978 - The preliminary design
phase begins for the Italian 1959 - Fairey Rotodyne sets
(1769–1821) French General and Emperor Army Aviation’s Agusta A 129 1996 - Boeing Sikorsky closed circuit speed record of 191
Mongoose light attack helicopter YRAH-66A Comanche first flight miles/hr (307 km/hr)

6 7 8 9 10 11 12
51st AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting New Horizons Forum and Aerospace Exposition
1971 - US Marine Corps
Gaylord Texan Hotel and Convention Center, Grapevine, Texas
Maj. Gen. Homer S. Hill accepts 1965 - LTV-Hiller-Ryan XC-
delivery of the first of 120 January 7 - 10, 2013 142A tilt wing completes its first
Hawker Siddeley AV-8A (Dallas/Ft. Worth Region) www.aiaa.org/asm2013 transitional flight by taking off
Harriers at the Dunsford, Surrey, 1966 - Bell 206A Jet-Ranger vertically, transitions to forward
England factory first flight flight and lands vertically

13 14 15 16 17 18 19

1947 - First tethered hover 1981 - Bell Helicopter

of the Kaman K-125A twin-rotor delivers its 25,000th helicopter
synchropter, Kaman’s first – a Bell 222, to Omniflight
helicopter Helicopters

20 Martin Luther
21 22 23 24 25 26
Inauguration Day King, Jr. Day International Specialists’ Meeting on
1983 - US Navy Squadron Unmanned Rotorcraft and
HSL-41 is commissioned as
the first operational Sikorsky
Network Centric Operations
SH-60B MK III Light Airborne Sponsored by the AHS Arizona Chapter 1967 - The 2nd prototype of the
Multi-Purpose System (LAMPS) January 22 – 24, 2013 Scottsdale, Arizona, USA Bell Aerosystems X-22A Quad
see vtol.org/unmanned Scan for
squadron Tilt-Duct makes its first flight
more inFO

27 28 29 30 31 1 2
1947 - Bell Helicopter’s “No aircraft ever took and held ground.”
Floyd Carlson and Joe Mashman 1974 - Bell Helicopter
become the first two CAA- receives US Army contract to – US Marine Corps Manual
certified commercial rotorcraft modify 101 Bell AH-1G Huey
pilot examiners Cobras into AH-1Q TOW Cobras

Copyright © 2013 AHS International

Russian Helicopter Pioneers

Boris N. Yuriev
(1889–1957)

Ivan P. Bratukhin
(1903–1985)

Alexander S. Yakovlev
(1906-1989)

Nikolai I. Kamov
Yuriev Helicopter (1912) (1902–1973)

Mikhail L. Mil
(1909-1970)

TsAGI 1-EA (1932) Bratukhin G-3 (1946)

Yak-M11FR-1 (1947)

Kamov Ka-10 (1949)

Mil Mi-1 (1948)

Photos: German Helicopter Museum Bückeburg Archives via Berend van der Wall, Grigory
Omelchenko, Aviastar.org and NASM

Copyright © 2013 AHS International

 January March
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february
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27 28 29 30 31 1 2
National Freedom Groundhog Day
Day
“The record of the past is filled with demonstrations that pure physical research pays for itself many times over, 1971 - The last U.S. built
CH-46F Sea Knight is rolled out at
often in totally unforeseen ways.” the Boeing Vertol factory in Morton,
Pennsylvania. A total of 624 A, D, and
– James Howard “Dutch” Kindelberger (1895-1962), North American Aviation President, GM, CEO, COB F CH-46 models have been delivered to
the Marines

3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1972 - Sikorsky announces
that it will design and build an
1875 - German scientist
Advancing Blade Concept (ABC)
and mathematician Dr. Ludwig 1957 - New York Airways
aircraft under a $9.9M contract
Prandtl is born in Freising, helicopter co-pilot Perry H. Young
with the US Army Air Mobility
near Munich. He is considered Jr., the first African American
Research and Development
to be the father of modern helicopter airline pilot, makes his
Laboratory; it was later
aerodynamics historic first flight
designated the XH-59A

10 11 Lincoln’s Birthday
12 Ash Wednesday
13 Valentine’s Day
14 15 16
Specialists’ Meeting on Airworthiness, Condition
Based Maintenance (CBM), and Health and 2012 - The US Marine Corps
announces that it has taken 1967 - First flight of the 2nd
Usage Monitoring (HUMS) Scan for
2010 - The German Army’s delivery of the first Bell Boeing prototype (the first to fly) of the
upgraded Eurocopter CH-53GA February 11–13, 2013 Sponsored by the AHS more inFO
MV-22B Osprey produced with Bölkow (later MBB) Bo105.
makes its maiden flight over the Redstone Chapter the new Block C suite of design Over 1,500 were produced in civil
Bavarian town of Donauwörth Huntsville, Alabama • see vtol.org/cbm upgrades and military variants

17 18 19 20 21 22 23
Presidents Day National Aviation
1953 - First flight of the Day (Canada)
1965 - The US Army awards
Lockheed (CL-840) and Sikorsky 1964 - Bell delivers 850th Brantly B-2 helicopter 1955 - Bell wins US Army
(S-66) contracts to study their UH-1; first flight of UH-1F competition for America’s first
1958 - First hover for the respective compound helicopters series; and first delivery of UH- 1962 - First flight of the production turbine helicopter, the
Bell X-14 vectored-thrust for the Advanced Aerial Fire 1E to an operational US Marine Piasecki 16H-1 Pathfinder XH-40 (later redesignated HU-1,
VTOL Support System (AAFSS) Corps unit I compound helicopter then UH-1)

24 25 26 27 28 1 2
Purim “Those who beat their swords into plowshares
will plow for those who did not.”
1958 - First flight of – Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826),
1958 - First flight of Sud-Aviation SE.3160 Alouette
Doak VZ-4 tilt-duct VTOL III prototype 3rd President of the United States

Copyright © 2013 AHS International

 250 miles/hour (218 knots): March 4, 1975
M BB Bo105 HGH
Winged-Compound Helicopter

MBB = Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm HGH = Hoch-Geschwindigkeits-Hubschrauber (High Speed Helicopter)

Photo: Michael Stephan, Eurocopter Deutschland Gmbh

Copyright © 2013 AHS International

 February April
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“Every great age is marked by innovation and daring – by the ability to meet unprecedented problems with intelligent
2012 - The 200th UH-72A
solutions. In a time of turbulence and change, it is more true than ever that knowledge is power, for only by true Lakota is received by the US Army
understanding and steadfast judgment are we able to master the challenge of history.” during a ceremony at American
– John F. Kennedy (1917-1963), 35th President of the United States, Address at the University of California at Berkeley, March 23, 1962 Eurocopter’s production facility in
Columbus, Mississippi

3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1953 - 1st flight of Bell
XHSL-1, Bell’s first tandem 1975 - The MBB Bo105 HAI Heli-Expo 2013
rotor design intended for ASW HGH winged compound
duty with the US Navy and helicopter reaches a speed of March 4-7, 2013 Las Vegas, Nevada 2005 - Helicopter pioneer
British Royal Navy. 52 were 250 miles/hour (218 knots) and www.rotor.com Frank N. Piasecki receives the
flown and demonstrated use as a a maximum blade-tip speed of Smithsonian Institute Lifetime
minesweeper Mach 0.97 Achievement Award

10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Daylight Savings
Time Begins 1955 - First flight of the
SNCASE SE.3130 Alouette 1997 - First Bell Boeing V-22
II powered by a Turbomeca built to production standards is
Artouste engine. In 1963 it delivered to the V-22 Integrated
became the first commercially Test Team at the Patuxent River
operated turbine helicopter in Naval Air Warfare Center
the U.S. in Maryland

St. Patrick’s Day 17 18 19 First day of

Spring
20 21 22 23
1976 -Three Sikorsky
YUH-60A helicopters were 2012 - US Marine Corps
turned over to the US Army HMLA-267 ‘Stingers’ begin
1989 - First flight of the at Ft. Benning, Georgia for operations with the Bell AH-1Z
Bell Boeing V-22A Osprey Government Competitive 1971 - First flight of the Viper after retiring its AH-1W
tilt rotor Testing Westland WG.13 Lynx ‘Whiskey’ Cobras

Palm Sunday
24 Passover
25 26 27 28 Good Friday
29 30
2008 - NAVAIR awards
a 5-year $10.3B contract to
Easter Sunday
31 Bell- Boeing for 141 MV-22
Ospreys for the US Marine
March 31st 1990 - 1954 - A modified Kaman 1986 - US Marines take Corps and 26 CV-22 Ospreys
1st flight of the Robinson R44 HTK-1 became the first twin- delivery of the first production for US Air Force Special
Astro prototype turbine helicopter to fly Bell AH-1W SuperCobra Operations Command
Copyright © 2013 AHS International
EWR VJ101C Tilt-Jet

First VTO flight: April 10, 1963

World’s first supersonic VTOL

Main photo: Hans-Ulrich Willbold EADS

EWR = Entwicklungsring Süd (Development Ring - South) was a consortium of Heinkel, Messerschmitt and Bölkow
VJ = “Vertikal Jäger“ Vertical Fighter

Photo: German Helicopter Museum Bückeburg Archives via

Berend van der Wall aviastar.org aviastar.org

Copyright © 2013 AHS International

 March May
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31 All Fool’s Day 1 2 3 4 5 6

2003 - US Marine Corps
CH-46Es and CH-53Es carried
US Army Rangers and Special
Ops troops in a mission to extract
captured US Army Private First 1931 - Pitcairn-Cierva 1945 - First AHS Annual
Class Jessica Lynch from an PCA-2 is the first Autogiro to be Forum held at the Engineers Club
Iraqi hospital certificated in the US in Philadelphia, PA

7 8 9 10 11 12 13
US Army
1986 - Bell Helicopter Quad-A Annual AHS Forum Technical
Textron and McDonnell Douglas Convention Paper submittal deadline
Helicopter Co. announce an 1963 - First vertical 1973 - Bell awarded NASA/
April 10-14, 2013 to Mira website
agreement to develop the US take-off of the EWR VJ-101 Army contract to build and test
Army’s Light Helicopter with American test pilot George Fort Worth, Texas www.miracd.com/AHS2013 two tilt rotor research aircraft
Experimental (LHX) aircraft Bright in the cockpit www.quad-a.org (later designated XV-15)

14 Income
Taxes Due 15 16 17 18 19 20
1962 - Equipped with
1924 - Etienne Oemichen sets Sikorsky HUS Sea Horses, 2010 - The first three of
first-ever FAI distance record for Lt.Col. Archie Clapp’s Marine twelve Mil Mi-35M Hind-E
helicopters: 1,181 ft (360 m) in Medium Helicopter Squadron combat helicopters arrive for
his Helicopter No. 2, a 4-rotor, 362 deploys to Soc Trang in the the Brazilian Air Force and Family Helicopter Rides
8-propeller craft powered by one Mekong Delta in South Vietnam are designated AH-2 Sabre in 11:00 am – 3:00 pm
Le Rhone rotary engine as part of Operation SHUFLY Brazilian service www helicoptermuseum.org

21 22 23 24 25 26 27
Administrative
Earth Day Professionals Arbor Day
Day 1991 - First flight of the
Aérospatiale/Daimler-Benz
2009 - The Future Lynx Aerospace AG (DASA) Tiger
is officially named the attack helicopter prototype for
AW159 Wildcat the French/German armies

28 29 30 1 2 3 4
“Plus, with the Harrier’s unique hovering capability, we’d be able to do garden parties,
bar mitzvahs and other private functions, all for a profitable rate, of course.”
– UK MoD spokesman on the possible use of BAe Harrier GR Mk 9’s to replace BAe Hawk T1’s flown by the
Royal Air Force’s Aerobatic Team, the Red Arrows, April 1, 2010

Copyright © 2013 AHS International

U.S. Coast Guard/Sikorsky
HU2S-1G/HH-52A Seaguard
S-62 prototype first flight: May 22, 1958

This amphibious workhorse helicopter served the U.S. Coast Guard for over 25 years. The aircraft has been credited with saving 15,000 lives and $1.5 billion in property loss and damage
while in Coast Guard service from 1963 to 1989. Ninety-nine HH-52s were based on Coast Guard cutters, icebreakers, and air stations.

Photo: U.S. Coast Guard

Copyright © 2013 AHS International

 April June
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may
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28 29 30 1 2 3 4
“There was also the comforting realization that nearly 2012 - Defense Acquisition
Board approves the US Army’s
all discoveries were preceded by numerous failures.” proposal to conduct industry
flight demonstrations in the
– Igor I. Sikorsky (1889-1972), Helicopter Pioneer summer of 2012 for its Armed
Aerial Scout requirement

5 6 7 8 9 10 11
2012 - A Royal Netherlands Family Fun Kids-Fest
Air Force Boeing AH-64D 11:00 am – 3:00 pm –
Apache makes its first landing 2012 - AgustaWestland Helicopter rides, food,
1994 - The last Sikorsky HH- on the Royal Netherlands Navy AW169 makes its first flight at all you can jump moon-
3F Pelican is retired from the US Landing Platform Deck, HrMs the company’s Cascina Costa, bounces & more!
Coast Guard Rotterdam Italy facility www.helicoptermuseum.org

12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Mother’s Day Armed Forces
6th International Helicopter Industry Exhibition Day
May 16-18, 2013
Moscow, Russia helirussia.ru/en 1948 - US Marine Corps HMX-1
pilots fly five Sikorsky HO3S-1s from
Quantico to Norfolk, VA., and embark
aboard USS Palau (CVE 122)

19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Phoenix Convention Center Phoenix, Arizona USA • vtol.org Scan for

more inFO

26 Memorial 27 28 29 30 31 1
Day observed

1984 - Defence ministers

of West Germany and France
sign an MoU covering the
development of a new anti-tank
helicopter (now named the Tiger)

Copyright © 2013 AHS International

 1960-1961 trials carried out at RAE Bedford and at sea (HMS Undaunted),
to assess a range of deck landing systems and operation from small ships.
These trials led to the Westland Wasp and resulted in the maritime capabilities
of the AgustaWestland Lynx and Merlin to this day.

Main photo: Saunders-Roe P.531

Saunders-Roe/Westland/

All photos courtesy of AgustaWestland/David Gibbings

Naval Helicopter Operations at Sea
AgustaWestland

Royal Navy Saunders-Roe P.531 Royal Navy Westland Wasp HAS.1 Royal Navy Westland Lynx HAS.2 Italian Navy AgustaWestland AW101
Copyright © 2013 AHS International
 May July
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“It appears fitting, when we meet to discuss one or the other of many aspects of rotary wing flight, that we should direct our thoughts to the one man
(alas no long with us) whose creative ability and genius not only made possible the Autogiro; but whose foresight and tenacity of purpose so well 1944 - Igor Sikorsky receives an
Honorary Membership in the Aero
and truly laid the foundations upon which the helicopter now so surely stands.” Club of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
- “In appreciation of his outstanding
– Reginald A. C. Brie (1895-1988), RAF Wing Commander, “Some Problems of Helicopter Operation and Their Influence on Design”, The Journal of achievement in the development of
the Helicopter Association of Great Britain, 1947 [on the loss of pioneer Juan de la Cierva] helicopters”

2 3 4 5 6 7 8
2012 - A US Air Force Bell
Boeing CV-22 Osprey flies a
non-stop simulated medevac 2011 - Finnish Defence
mission of 2,600 nm in 11.5 Forces conduct a mass troop
hours, with 3 aerial refuelings, transport exercise when eight
from Cannon AFB, NM to the NH90s carry 157 troops from
awaiting SSBN USS Wyoming the Guard Jaeger Regiment over
off the US east coast a 320 km area

9 10 11 12 13 Flag Day 14 15
2002 - DRS Technologies
receives a $2.6 million contract 1962 - Capt. Richard H.
from Smiths Aerospace Coan, US Air Force, sets a new 1775 - US Army established
Electronic Systems to build closed-circuit distance record 1979 - Preliminary design
1908 - The Aeronautical flight control computers for for helicopters when he flies a 1984 - Westland Lynx 3 phase is completed for the Italian
Society of the United States is AgustaWestland EH-101’s Kaman H-43B Huskie a distance makes its first flight from the Army Aviation’s Agusta A 129
established in New York for Denmark of 656.3 miles (1056 km) company’s Yeovil, UK facility Mongoose light attack helicopter

Father’s Day
16 17 18 19 20 Summer Begins
21 22
2005 - US Marine Corps 1894 - Frederick W.
VMX-22 successfully concludes Lanchester, British aeronautical 2011 - AgustaWestland 1973 - Bell Helicopter
Operational Evaluation Phase and automobile pioneer, announces 1958 - First flight of the announces that it has taken full Company receives a contract
II (OT-IIG) using eight MV-22 his theory of circulatory airflow 1,450 hp Napier Gazelle turbine- ownership of the BA609 civil from the US Army to begin
“FatherFest” Antique Car
1997 - First flight of the Block A aircraft, it flew 751.7 to the Birmingham Natural powered Westland Wessex HAS.1 tiltrotor program and the former development of an Advanced
and Motorcycle Show
10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Eurocopter EC155 B with a five flight hours during the three History and Philosophical Society for the Royal Navy. It was built Bell Agusta aircraft is rebranded Attack Helicopter, later
www.helicoptermuseum.org blade Spheriflex main rotor month evaluation in England under license from Sikorsky the AW609 designated the YAH-63

23 24 25 26 27 28 29
1962 - First flight of the
Dornier Do 32E collapsible

30
June 30, 1912 - ultra-light one-man helicopter,
Ludwig Bölkow is born. 1946 - US Army Air Forces 1949 - First flight of the powered by a BMW 6012L gas
He first worked for Heinkel, and US Navy adopt the “knot” French SNCAC NC.2001 turbine/compressor
then Messerschmitt during WW2, 2012 - Canada’s first Boeing and “nautical mile” as standard “Abeille” helicopter with twin
and created Bölkow GmbH CH-147F Chinook makes its aeronautical units for speed and intermeshing two-bladed rotors 1973 - Robinson Helicopter
after the war 1st flight distance and an all-metal fuselage Company is founded
Copyright © 2013 AHS International
McDonnell XL-25/XH-35/XV-1
Convertaplane

First helicopter to exceed 200 miles/hour in level flight

First tethered hover flight: February 11, 1954
First free hover flight: July 14, 1954
First transition: April 29, 1955
Main photo via Robert Head

Photo via David Groen Photo Boeing Photo via Hal Klopper

XV-X Concept
Copyright © 2013 AHS International
 June August
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30 1 2 3 Independence
4 5 6
Day
1960 - A US Navy Gyrodyne
DSN-1 ASW drone helicopter 1944 - Bell’s Model 30
makes an at-sea landing aboard performs before more than
USS Mitscher (DL-2), off the 1926 - US Army Air Corps 4,000 spectators at a defense
coast of Long Island, NY in a is formed out of the former Air workers’ rally at the Buffalo,
successful demo Services New York Civic Stadium

7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Ramadan 1964 - US Marine Corps
Medium Helicopter Squadron
HMM-265 based at New River,
North Carolina, receives its first
Boeing Vertol CH-46A
Sea Knight

14 15 16 17 18 19 20
2012 - US Army’s last RotorTech Asia Pacific Conference 2012
remaining AH-64A Apache to be Co-sponsored by AHS 2012 - Sikorsky delivers the 2010 - Sikorsky announces
upgraded into an AH-64D Block July 16-17, 2013 500th UH-60M Black Hawk it has developed an all-electric
II was formally handed over at a Singapore Expo, Singapore in a special ceremony at the 200hp (150kW) helicopter,
ceremony at Ellington Field Joint
www.rotortechasia.com company’s plant in Stratford, the Firefly, based on the
Reserve Base in Texas Connecticut S-300C helicopter

21 22 23 24 25 26 27
2012 - Eurocopter’s X3
proof-of-concept high-speed 2012 - The first of 16 Boeing
compound helicopter arrives in CH-47F Chinook helicopters for
the Washington, DC area on the the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
final leg of its US tour is delivered

28 29 30 31 1 2 3
1945 - A US Coast Guard
Sikorsky HNS-1, piloted by Cmdr.
Frank Erickson, demonstrates “Reality must take precedence over public relations,
1968 - The first Boeing Vertol the rescue hoist at USCG
CH-46F Sea Knight was accepted Floyd Bennett Field by lifting for nature cannot be fooled.”
by the Marine Corps at the factory “rescuee”AMM2/C Sergei
– Richard P. Feynman (1918-1988), Theoretical Physicist
in Morton, Pennsylvania Sikorsky , US Coast Guard

Copyright © 2013 AHS International

 40th Anniversary
1973-2013
Robinson Helicopters

Frank Robinson Helicopter (left side) R44 flight testing R66 Turbine first flight
with R22 test pilot
First flight: August 28, 1975 (R22)

All photos: Robinson Helicopter

Copyright © 2013 AHS International

 July September
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1977 - First US Marine
“Thank God, men cannot as yet fly, and lay waste the sky as well as the earth.” Corps CH-46E Sea Knight
– Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862), Author, Philosopher, Winter Journal, January 1861 1954 - First un-tethered modified at Naval Air Rework
vertical flight of Convair XFY-1 Facility, MCAS Cherry Point,
Pogo tail-sitter North Carolina, is rolled out

4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Eid al-Fitr

1961 - Maj E. E. Kluever

1962 - The first US Marine is the first US Army pilot to fly 1985 - First flight of a
Corps Boeing Vertol HRB-1 (later the Bell XV-3 convertiplane at Westland Lynx fitted with British
CH-46A Sea Knight) makes its NASA Ames Research Center, Experimental Rotor Program
first flight Moffett Field, California (BERP) rotor blades

1961 - A US Navy Sikorsky

11 12 13 14 15 16 17
HRS-3 helicopter from USNS
Haiti Victory makes the first 46th Annual Penn State Short
recovery of an object after it had AIAA-AHS-RAeS-SAE International Course in Rotary Wing Technology
been in orbit when it retrieves
a 300-lb instrumented capsule
Powered Lift Conference (IPLC) State College, Pennsylvania August 12-16, 2013
discharged by Discoverer XIII/ Los Angeles, California August 12-14, 2013 www.outreach.psu.edu/rotary-wing
Project Corona www.vtol.org/iplc

18 19 20 21 22 23 24
National 2009 - Three Eurocopter
1964 - US Army CWO Aviation Day EC 665 Tiger HAP attack
Charles D. Holbrook from the (U.S.) helicopters arrive in Kabul and
120th Aviation Company flies begin combat operations as
the last Boeing Vertol CH-21C part of the French Bataillon 2012 - The 200th Boeing
Shawnee from Saigon to Vung Helicopteres d’Afghanistan in the CH-47F Chinook for the US
Tau, Viet Nam NATO coalition Army is delivered

25 26 27 28 29 30 31
Specialists’ Meeting on Vertical
Lift Research, Development,
Test & Evaluation
August 28-29, 2013, Patuxent
2008 - Sikorsky X2 River, Maryland Sponsored by AHS
coaxial compound Technology Patuxent River Chapter
Demonstrator first flight www.vtol.org/pax Scan for more inFO
Copyright © 2013 AHS International
Pitcairn PA-19 Cabin Autogyro

Via Bruce H. Charnov Photo: NASM

First flight: September 1932

Via Bruce H. Charnov

Copyright © 2013 AHS International

 August October
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septem ber
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1992 - NH Industries signs a

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Labor Day Rosh Hashanah
design and development contract
for the NH90 with the NATO
Helicopter Management Agency
which represented the original 39th European Rotorcraft Forum (ERF)
four participating nations: Moscow, Russia
France, Germany, Italy, and the September 3 – 6, 2013 • www.vtol.org/erf Scan for
Netherlands more inFO

8 9 10 11 12 Yom Kippur
begins at sundown
13 14
Patriot Day (U.S.)
Asian Rotorcraft Forum (ARF) 2013
4th International Basic Research Conference on Rotorcraft Technology
1943 - Kellett receives
(IBRCRT)
a contract for a two-place
helicopter, the XR-8, with September 12 – 13, 2013 Tianjin, China
intermeshing rotors www.vtol.org/arf Scan for
more inFO

15 16 17 18 19 20 21
1962 - The Tri-Service 2007 - A US Coast Guard Air
aircraft designation system is Station Barbers Point, Hawaii-
2010 - Sikorsky X2 introduced by the US DoD for all based Eurocopter HH-65C
Technology Demonstrator flies US military aircraft; prior to this Dauphin helicopter reaches the
at 250 knots (288 miles/hr) in date, each armed service used one million flight hour milestone
level flight their own nomenclature system for the type

22 23 24 25 26 27 28
Autumn Begins

1992 - First radar-equipped

US Marine Corps McDonnell
Douglas AV-8B, the Harrier II
Plus, makes its inaugural flight

29 30 1 2 3 4 5
“245, 250, 251 knots... pretty much level... lower the nose... nice... 260, 262... bringing the nose up, bringing the prop back at the same time...
wow, that was nice, I can’t thank you guys enough, that was amazing.”
– Kevin Bredenbeck, Sikorsky’s Chief Test Pilot and Director of Test & Evaluation, actual voice transmission during the Sept. 15, 2010 test flight
when the Sikorsky X2 exceeded the 250-knot goal

Copyright © 2013 AHS International

NASA/Bell Aerosystems LLRV
Lunar Lander Research Vehicle for Project Apollo

LLRV with NASA/Bell 47 chase aircraft Edwards AFB

First flight: October 30, 1964

NASA Dryden Flight Research Center photos

Empty weight: 2,510 lb (1,138 kg) Powerplant: (1) GE CF700-2V turbofan, 4,200 lbf (19 kN) mounted
Max take-off weight: 3,925 lb (1,780 kg) vertically in a gimbal
Maximum speed: 40 miles/hour Other Propulsion: (2) hydrogen peroxide lift rockets with variable thrust,
Service ceiling: 6,000 ft (1,800 m) 100 to 500 lbf (440 to 2,200 N) each to control
LLRV rate of descent and horizontal movement
Thrust/weight: 1.07
Endurance: 10 minutes (16) smaller hydrogen peroxide thrusters, mounted in pairs, for pitch,
yaw and roll control. (6) 500 lbf (2,200 N) thrust backup safety rockets
Copyright © 2013 AHS International
 September November
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october
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29 30 1 2 3 4 5
“I am, and ever will be, a white-socks, pocket-protector,
nerdy engineer… and I take a substantial amount of 2009 - Bell UH-1 S/N
73-21776 participates in a
pride in the accomplishments of my profession.” Departure Ceremony at Ft. Myer,
– Neil Armstrong (1930-2012), Aerospace Engineer, Virginia, honoring the venerable 1979 - First flight of the 1892 - Hermann Glauert, a
Naval Aviator, Test Pilot, LLRV Pilot, UH-1’s retirement from the US Aérospatiale AS355 Ecureuil British aerodynamicist, is born in
Army’s Operational Force 2/TwinStar Sheffield, Yorkshire, UK
Astronaut and Educator [February 2000]

6 7 8 9 10 11 12

“RotorFest” All
Helicopter Air Show
October 12 & 13
10 am – 4:30 pm
www.helicoptermuseum.org

13 14 15 16 17 18 19
Eid al-Adha
Columbus Day
1783 - Jean-François 1963 - First public flight
1970 - Type certification Pilâtre de Rozier and Marquis demonstration of the West
for the Bo105A, equipped with d’Arlandes are the first human German EWR Süd VJ 101C
two Allison 250-C18 turbines, passengers to make a vertical prototype X1 was given at 1974 - US Army/Sikorsky
is granted by the German LBA ascent in a tethered Montgolfière Manching Airfield, near YUH-60A prototype makes its
(Luftfahrt-Bundesamt) hot-air balloon Munich, Germany first flight

20 21 22 23 24 25 26
2010 - Sikorsky makes initial
decision to fund development of
two Light Tactical Helicopter 1953 - First flight of the 1958 - First tethered hover
prototypes, known as the US Air Force’s Piasecki of the Piasecki PA-4 Sea Bat
S-97 Raider XH-16 Transporter unmanned quad-rotor helicopter

27 28 29 30 Halloween
31 1 2
1938 (Oct. 28-29) - The Philadelphia
75th Anniversary of the Section of the Institute of the Aeronautical
Technical Specialists’ Meeting
First Rotating Wing Aircraft Sciences, predecessor to the AIAA, hosts the first “Engines of war have long since reached their
International Rotating Wing Conference at the on Rotorcraft Structures limits, and I see no further hope of any
Meeting and Survivability
Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. Subsequent improvement in the art.”
Franklin Institute Philadelphia, PA conferences are held in 1939 and 1941 which lead
www.vtol.org/first to the creation of the American Helicopter Society Williamsburg, Virginia October 29-31, 2013 – Frontinus (40-103, AD) Roman Aristocrat, 90 A.D.
Scan for
in 1943 www.vtol.org/structures
more inFO
Copyright © 2013 AHS International
Piasecki XHRP-1
First flight: November 3, 1947

Photo: Piasecki Aircraft

Copyright © 2013 AHS International
 October December
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“Few people who know the work of Langley, Lilienthal, Pilcher, Maxim and Chanute but will be inclined to
believe that long before the year 2000 A.D., and very probably before 1950, a successful aeroplane will have
soared and come home safe and sound.” Family Helicopter Rides
11:00 am – 3:00 pm
www.helicoptermuseum.org
– H. G. Wells (1866-1946), Writer, 1901

Daylight Saving
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Election Day
Time Ends
1965 - US Army announces
that Lockheed’s CL-840 design, 1964 - First flight of the
a rigid-rotor compound helicopter, Hughes XV-9A at Culver City,
is the winner of the AAFSS California, piloted by Robert G.
competition. It was later designated Ferry. It utilized the hot-cycle 1957 - First vertical take-off
the AH-56A Cheyenne rotor system of Fairey Rotodyne prototype

10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Veterans’ Day
2009 - Eurocopter delivers 1986 - The US Army’s 101st 2011 - Robinson Helicopter
the first of five UH-72As to the Aviation Group (Combat) is Company, the largest
1957 - Haig-K Aircraft US Naval Test Pilot School at re-designated as Aviation manufacturer of civil helicopters, 1985 - Aérospatiale HH-65A
1775 - US Marine Corps Corporation HK-1A helicopter Patuxent River Naval Air Brigade, 101st Airborne Division produces its 10,000th helicopter, Dolphin helicopter enters US 1983 - First flight of the Bell
is established makes its first free flight Station, Maryland (Air Assault) an R44 Coast Guard service AH-1T+ SuperCobra

17 18 19 20 21
1783 - Benjamin Franklin and
22 23
1991 - Aérospatiale AS365 and King Louis XVI witness the
X Dauphin Grande Vitesse (High world’s first manned, untethered hot-
Speed Dauphin) sets a Class E1e air balloon flight of Jean-François
(3,000-4,500 kg) speed record Pilâtre de Rozier and Marquis
of 201 knots (372 km/h or Francois Laurant d’Arlandes at the
231 miles/hr over a 3 km La Muette, a royal palace in the Bois
triangular course de Boulogne, Paris

24 25 26 27 28 29 30
2003 - The last Sikorsky
Hanukkah Thanksgiving Day
CH-53E Super Stallion is 2009 - French amphibious
delivered to Marine Corps assault ship FS Mistral conducts 1962 - US Navy awards
Air Station New River, North exercises with Russian Navy Bell Aerosystems Co. of Niagara
Carolina. The Marines received Kamov Ka-29 , Ka-31, and Falls, NY a contract to design the
172 of the aircraft over a Ka-52 helicopters during a visit X-22A Quad Tilt-Duct Tri-Service
23- year period to St. Petersburg, Russia V/STOL Transport

Copyright © 2013 AHS International

 Photo: NASA Ames

Tilt Rotor First flight: December 18, 1958

NACA/U.S. Army/Bell XV-3

Bell Helicopter Textron Bell Helicopter Textron

Copyright © 2013 AHS International

 November January 2013
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s u n d ay m o n d ay t u e s d ay w e d n e s d ay t h u r s d ay f r i d ay s at u r d ay

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1966 - US Marine Medium
Helicopter Squadron 262
(HMM-262) under the command 1955 - First public showing of
1944 - The Commandant of Lt.Col. Ural W. Shadric, the turbine-powered counterpart of
of the Coast Guard establishes arrives in Vietnam equipped the Piasecki YH-16, the YH-16A
the Coast Guard Office of with Boeing Vertol CH-46A “Turbo Transporter”, took place at
Air-Sea Rescue Sea Knights Philadelphia International Airport

8 9 10 11 12 13 14
2010 - Northrop Grumman
2011 - US Army AMCOM and Bell Helicopter complete the
Acquisition Center signs a first autonomous test flight of 1958 - First flight of the
contract with MD Helicopters the Fire-X Vertical Unmanned twin-engine Dornier Do 29 STOL 1987 - Production of the
to procure three new MD-500E Air System (VUAS) which took transport. A modified Do 27, Kamov Ka-50 Black Shark
scout/attack helicopters for the place at Yuma Proving Ground it had tilting pusher propellers, attack helicopter is ordered by
El Salvadoran Air Force in Arizona capable of tilting 110 degrees the Soviet Council of Ministers

15 16 17 18 19 20 21
1951 - Igor Sikorsky accepts
the Collier Trophy on behalf of 1945 - US Coast Guard Lt. Winter Begins
the helicopter industry and the Cmdr. Tremper earns a Silver Life
US Armed Forces from President Saving Medal awarded by the US 2011 - First US Army/
Truman at the White House. 1958 - Bell Helicopter test Treasury Dept. for rescuing two Bell OH-58D War Replacement
The Trophy was awarded for the pilot Bill Quinlan completes the civilians who crashlanded on the Aircraft (converted from an
use of helicopters in air rescue first full conversion to airplane icebound Shrewsbury River in A model) is delivered to 1st
operations mode of the Bell XV-3 tilt rotor northeastern New Jersey Squadron, 6th Cavalry

22 23 24 25 26 27 28
Christmas Eve Christmas Day
2005 - Bell Boeing Joint
Program Office was awarded
1994 - Brantly International a $1.06 billion contract by the
obtains the type certificates US Navy for procurement of
for the Brantly B-2B and 305 14 FY 2007 Lot 11 MV-22
helicopters and 2 Lot 11 CV-22 aircraft

29 30 31 1 2 3 4
New Year’s Eve
“We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology, in which hardly
anyone knows anything about science and technology.”
1944 - The US Army’s 1946 - First production
100th Sikorsky R-4B Hoverfly Bell YH-13 (Bell 47A) delivered – Carl E. Sagan (1934-1996), Astrophysicist
is delivered to US Army
Copyright © 2013 AHS International
Hughes Model 205
Photo date: March 1950

Photo: NASM

Copyright © 2013 AHS International

 2013
The year at a glance
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Copyright © 2013 AHS International
 This 2013 Rotorcraft & V/STOL History Calendar was prepared by the AHS History Committee.

We join with this committee and with Bell Helicopter Textron to wish you a very happy holiday season and
best wishes for the coming year.

If you have any suggestions or comments regarding this calendar, please send them to:
[email protected]
Interested in learning more about V/STOL and rotary-wing history? Please visit:
www.helicopter-history.org

Or visit the American Helicopter Society History Committee on:

Michael Stephan, Eurocopter Michael Stephan, Eurocopter AgustaWestland via

Bell Helicopter Textron David Gibbings Grigory Omelchenko Deutschland Gmbh Deutschland Gmbh U.S. Coast Guard David Gibbings

NASM Robinson Helicopter Bruce H. Charnov NASA Dryden Piasecki Aircraft NASA Ames NASM

AHS International – The Vertical Flight Technical Society

217 N. Washington Street, Alexandria, VA 22314-2538

Phone: (703) 684-6777 Fax: (703) 739-9279 • E-mail: [email protected]

Web site: www.vtol.org
Calendar design and publication provided by The American Helicopter Society International, Bell Helicopter Textron, CPS Gumpert and Ken Bartie (Boeing). Scan this QR code with
your mobile device for
The History Committee would also like to acknowledge the significant contributions made by Mr. Ray Watkins, 1000aircraftphotos.com. more info or go to
www.Vtol.org/calendar
Copyright © 2013 American Helicopter Society International