The human spirit of overcoming limits and barriers impelled us to overcome our limitations and it looked for means for us to reach the sky. An example of that desire is the interesting history on Daedalus and Icarus, told in the Greek Mythology.
The Daedalus and Icarus’ dream were persecuted by the Italian genius Leonardo da Vinci who designed, in 1480, a machine that could lifted flight horizontally.
He inspired the expert in aeronautics Igor Sikorski, an American of Russian origin that started to study the subject in 1908. The first airplane of Igor, Sikorsky VS-300 (1939), it would come to be the definitive project of all the futures helicopters.
It was the first helicopter of only rotor and his idea was welcomed quickly by the manufacturers. The vehicle could be controlled, it hovered when arising and to go down vertically, besides flying back and for the sides. Sikorsky archived the mass production plans during to Second World War to work in other aeronautical projects.
But in 1945, he immediately back to work to improve his previous project and to conceive military and domestic ships, whose purposes included operations of help and rescue besides combat missions in low altitudes.
And the dream continues. It was open an international competition by AHS ( American Helicopter Society) for individuals or teams that get to develop a heavier-than-air machine capable of vertical takeoff and landing in still air. The machine shall be powered and controlled by the crew during the entire flight, including accelerating the rotor up to takeoff speed.
In agreement with the rules, the flight requirements shall consist of hovering goes one minute while maintaining flight within to 10-put square. During this team the lowest part of the machine shall exceed momentarily 3 meters above the ground.
The one minute hovering team and the momentary achievement of 3 meters altitude is required to win the USD 20 thousand AHS prize.
Besides being a competition that stimulates innovations, it can be considered as a homage to those that dreamed and dared to innovate, as da Vinci and Sikorski.
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