The Sidney herald., 1956-01-12

peri" win signal the approach o
. forestry helicopter. The souns
OF rotary wings slapping ths
rough. mountain air Is becoming
familiar to forest fire fighter!
during the dry western summers
and the modern forester is en-
joying the thrill of flying like q
bird"
The forester, in his quest fos
better production and better util-
ization from his timberlands,
searches not only for the theories
and applications of forestry but
also for the tools and machines
to aid him in his work. Since
World War /, the progressive
forester has looked to the air.
plane for aid in managing large
tracts of inaccessible cumberland.
The airplane proved useful, but
many of the forester's needs for
aviation aids were not fulfilled
by it. After the second world
war a remarkable flying machine
called a helicopter presented pos
sible solutions to some of his
problems
We can assume that mans
dream of flying is as old as his
appreciation of natures av~iators,
the birds and bees. Yet, the reali-
cation that the principle of the
helicopter is just as old as the
principle of the airplane may
startle those of us who have seen
the airplane become practical 80
years prior to the heliccnter.
Leonard de Vinci (1452-15l9)
pictured in his sketch book a
machine which he named
the helix. While the Wright
brothers were proving the theor-
les of flight with airplanes, others
attempting to do the same
helicopters. The success of
gyro-planes after 1925 stimulated
interest in rotary-wing aircraft,
and in 1887, Henry Focke pro-
iuced the first practical helicop-
Ter in Germany. One year later
Igor Sikorsky was successful in
he United States
There are several flight char
acteristics which make the hell
particularly adaptable to
'orest work. The ability to initiate
akeoffs and complete landings
Vertically enables it to operate
rom very small and usually I'M
improved areas. It can operate at
ow air speeds, maintaining flight
lnder maximum load conditions
It 20 to Is m. p. b. 1t can main
ain safe flight at very low afti-
udes. It is very rnaneuverable
md safe. These combined char
make the helipcopter
he versatile aircraft needed in
orestry.
With a view to using them in
crest work, helicopters were
ested as early as 1916. These in
'estigations were designed to test
he capabilities of helicopters in
mountainous regions. The results
Indicated that the application of
nese early helipcopters was seri-
usly limited due to their short
ange, low Load capacities, and
,oor performance at high noun
ain elevations. Yet, the tremen-
Ious possibilities due to the flight
characteristics remained.
In 1949 on a large California
ire, helicopters were used for
reconnaissance, transportation of
ire fighters to the fire lines,
vacuation of disabled firemen,
and even for back-firing
using the rotor's air blast.
With these 1947 models, their use
S a supporting tool was not only
Iccessful and expedient but also
economical in terms of the po-
loss, had they not been
sed-
The helicopter has been put
, a number of specialized uses
Y government and industrial
,resters. Besides being a trans
ortation medium, it has been
sed for aerial seeding of logged
burned-over land, low-altitude
praying of forests, low-altitude
a~otography, timber cruising, and
reconnaissance of tim
srlands. In most cases where
elicopters have been used for a
job, they have been sue
.ssful and economical.
To the present time, the use of
'tocraft in forestry has not be-
me extensive, primarily due to
leir high initial cost and sub
quent high operating expenses.
econdarily, poor performance at
gh mountain elevations and low
iad capacities have inhibited their
;e. Military demand for produc-
On has also made procurement
: civilians difficult.
Costs for the present type hell