National Helicopter Museum National Helicopter Museum traces the evolution of the rotary wing from early predecessors like the boomerang and Chinese tops to designs by Leonardo da Vinci and George Cayley to early motorized experiments to modern helicopters of today. Igor Sikorsky's first helicopter success in Stratford on September 14, 1939 is documented as well as his subsequent productions. Also displayed are the small gas turbine engines developed locally by Dr. Anselm Franz at Avco Lycoming which power such helicopters as the Bell Helicopter UH-1 Iroquois or "Huey" and the Boeing CH-47 Chinook. Other exhibits include ones on tilt rotor development; current photos
Birdman Chinook Birdman Chinook The Birdman Chinook is a family of single and two-place, pusher configuration, high-wing ultralight aircraft that was first flown on 12 December 1982 and produced by Birdman Enterprises of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada starting in 1983. The Chinook design has evolved through several models over time and has been produced by two companies. Over 850 in total have been completed and flown and kits remain in production in the 21st century. The first Chinook model introduced was the single-seat WT-11, which entered the market in 1983. The WT-11 was the eleventh aircraft designed by Ukrainian-born aeronautical engineer Vladimir Talanczuk,