Helicopter

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A Robinson 90 helicopter flying just a little above the ground
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A Robinson 90 helicopter flying just a little above the ground

A helicopter is a kind of aircraft (flying machine). The main difference between a helicopter and an airplane is what lifts them into the sky. An airplane gets its lift from its wings and its thrust, or foward motion, from a propeller or a jet turbine. A helicopter gets its lift and thrust from horizontal rotors (several rotating blades like small wings). For that reason, they are sometimes called rotary wing aircraft.

This means that a helicopter flys differently to how an airplane does. An airplane must move forwards to stay in the air, but a helicopter can stop and hover on the spot while still keeping above the ground. Helicopters move by tilting their rotors, so they push the air below them in a different direction.

Helicopters were first thought of by Leonardo da Vinci in 1490, but it was hundreds of years later (in the early 20th century) before anyone built one that could really fly. Since around 400 BC the Chinese had a flying top that was used as a children's toy, that used the same method of creating lift.

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Category:Helicopters

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