Evening star., 1943-09-01

S
Meanwhile the Army's Materiel Command
at Wright Field had recognized the revolu-
tionary tactical possibilities inherent in this
new type of flying machine and in February.
l940, provided further funds for development
In May, l942, two-place ship developed
for the Army as the XR4A flew 7o1 miles in
series OF cross country hops from Stratford,
Conn, to Wright Field at Dayton, Ohio. 1t
was the longest helicopter flight yet made.
Now that the principles of controlled hell
copter flight had been established and the
heicopter had shown further promise, first
Quantity orders were placed by the Army in
December, 1912. In May, tests on Long Island
Sound demonstrated the helicopter could land
and take off from the limited areas of the deck
on tanker, opening new possibilities for its
use as an anti-submarine weapon
Today separate division of United Air
craft Corporation is devoted solely to hell
copter research, design and manufacture.
Housed in quarters leased from the Crane
Company in Bridgeport, Sikorsky Aircraft
IS in production for the u S. Army and is
collaborating closely with -Kelvinator.
whom it has licensed to build even more.
New Craft Poses Design Problems
In liked wing aircraft, enough experience
has been accumulated to be able to predict
with some degree of accuracy just what prob
lens will be met
There is no such background of experience
with the helicopter In all history, only a few
helcopters have been built that have actually
flown. great deal of research and experi-
mental work lies ahead before all the perplex-
ing and intricate problems of helicopter flight
can be solved. To tackle these problems
Sikorsky's staff of engineers, collaborating
closely with Army experts, is devoting its
energies on almost 24-hour- day basis.
Likewise there are many production prob
lens involved in tooling up for manufacture
ing new and radically different type of air
craft. Sikorsky's own experts, working
closely with Nash -Kelvinator' trained staff
are bending every effort to cut the inevitable
toollng-up time to an absolute minimum.
Enlisting Many sub-eontractors
Following United's production philosophy,
Sikorsky makes extensive use of sub-contrac-
ting and it is probable that the Sikorsky
helicopter will be more highly sub-oontraeted
than any other product of United Aircraft
Corporation.
The fundamental principles of helicopter
flight have been established. There remain
many problems of refinement to be solved.
But those problems only present challenge
to Sikorsky Aircraft. The whole history of
aviation has been the accomplishment of the
impossible.
Mr.. Sikorsky points out that he began ex-
periments in 1908. There were only two rea-
sons his first helicopter, built in 1909, never
flew. They were, said Mr.. Sikorsky: Zone,
insufficient power and, two, insufficient knowl-
edge"
Helicopter Not Ready For Public
Meanwhile there has been a tremendous
interest in helicopters for private and COM
mercial use. Letters have been received from
all over the United States and "a foreign
countries. More than dozen companies have
applied to the Civil Aeronautics Board for
commercial helicopter routes totaling over
$4,000 miles.
But all private and commercial demands
must wait until the end Of the war Every
ounce Of engineering and production re-
sources at Sikorsky Aircraft's command must
be devoted entirely to furthering the war
effort ~