In 1972 Jean Boulet set the world record for the highest altitude reached in a helicopter, 40,280ft. During descent his engines failed, and he landed the helicopter without power, setting another record in the process for the highest unpowered helicopter landing.
helicopters
The US Army tradition of naming helicopters….
The US Army tradition of naming helicopters after Native American Tribes (something that was once an official regulation) dates to 1947 and General Hamilton Howze who felt that helicopters were meant to attack the flank and fade away…in the tradition of the Plains Indian tribes.
US Army Aviation was centered in Fort Sill Oklahoma, which has a substantial Native American population.
When the Cobra attack helicopters were named, the Native American tribes inquired why it wasn’t named after a tribe. The Army responded by saying that it was avoiding potential offense by naming an outright weapon of war after a tribe.
The tribes responded by declaring there were many tribes proud of their warrior heritage whose members would love having attack choppers like the Apache named after them.
The bolt holding the rotor blades onto a helicopter
The bolt holding the rotor blades onto a helicopter is called a Jesus nut. It is a single point of failure which would lead to the helicopter crashing.
The Nazis had helicopters, and even launched them from battleships…
The Nazis had helicopters, and even launched them from battleships. BMW was going to mass produce a battlefield version, but the factory was destroyed in a bombing raid.
The bolt that holds the rotor onto the b …
The bolt that holds the rotor onto the body of a Huey Helicopter is called the Jesus nut because if it fails the helicopter would detach from the rotors and the only thing left for the crew to do would be to pray to Jesus as they fell from the sky.