National Air and Space Museum
Vertical Flight
July 1, 1976 – 1994
This gallery houses helicopters, autogiros, and special vehicles.
Highlights include:
- Pitcairn AC-35: experimental autogiro adaptable to road travel, 1936
- Kellett XO-60: Army autogiro for slow flight and near vertical take-off, 1942
- Focke-Achgelis FA-330: one-man gyro-glider, foldable for carrying aboard submarines, 1942
- Sikorsky XR-4: 1st helicopter mass produced in the United States, 1943
- Hiller XH-44: 1st successful U.S. helicopter with co-axial, counter-rotating blades, 1944
- Bell VH-13J: 1st presidential helicopter, President Eisenhower's, 1957
- Bell XV-22 Osprey Tiltrotor: experimental aircraft that combines the functionality of a helipoter with some of the advantages of an airplane, 1989
- Rotor-winged aircraft configurations: variations, principles of flight, and control associated with these configurations are explained
- H-34 Marine Helicopter: surrounding platform provides access to the cockpit
Additions include:
- November 11, 1987 - Women in Helicopter Aviation: On view are photographs of the "Whirly-Girls," an international association of women helicopter pilots, including its members Valerie Andre and Jean Ross Howard.
