Whirlybirds: A History of the U.S. Helicopter Pioneers
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.24 (909 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0295976993 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 512 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 0000-00-00 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Charles P. Hobbs said An interesting look into aviation history. Spenser's _Whirlybirds_ describes the evolution and development of the helicopter. Although Leonardo Da Vinci's notes and several European refinements are discussed, the book primarily concentrates on the efforts of four Americans: Igor Sikorsky, Frank Piasecki, Arthur Young, and Stanley Hiller.Sikorsky, an immi. Michael Hirschberg said Great book on helo pioneers. This is a masterpiece on the four US helicopter pioneers -- Sikorsky, Bell (Arthur Young), Piasecki, and Stanley Hiller. Only faults to the book are (1) that it primarily focuses on the pioneers (hence the title), not the machines, and ("Great book on helo pioneers" according to Michael Hirschberg. This is a masterpiece on the four US helicopter pioneers -- Sikorsky, Bell (Arthur Young), Piasecki, and Stanley Hiller. Only faults to the book are (1) that it primarily focuses on the pioneers (hence the title), not the machines, and (2) he has nothing at all good to say about Hughes helicopters. In fact, it's. ) he has nothing at all good to say about Hughes helicopters. In fact, it's. Excellent! a great book Jay Hendrickson (RotaryResearchJBH@att.net) Whirlybirds is very well written account of the early history of the helicopter, and its pioneers. Filling a long needed gap in aviation history, this book tells how four men looked into the future of vertical flight, and turned it into a reality. This book is a must have. Jay Hendrickson
No one person or group invented the helicopter. Arthur Young's invention of the Bell helicopter was part of his lifelong quest to reconcile mathematics, science, and fundamental philosophy in an integrated theory of how the universe operates. Basically unstable, filled with unreliable parts, and assailed by countless forces and vibrations, the helicopter presented its inventors with problems that were more complex than those faced by the Wright brothers four decades earlier. Russian-born Igor Sikorsky was a visionary whose pathbreaking experience spanned fixed-wing and rotary-wing aviation, thus linking the "earlybirds" to the "whirlybirds." Frank Piasecki's ideas and showmanship propelled his company (later to become Vertol and today Boeing Helicopter) to the forefront as the world's supplier of big helicopters. Stanley Hiller, Jr.'s company was the first to define and manufacture a civil helicopter to truly meet the needs of the marketplace, and he was the only pioneer to succeed in the absence of either military or corporate support.. In the United States, four men became the pioneers who, working independently along parallel lines during the 1940s, solved the pr