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 2008, described the Chinook Plus 2 with the HKS 700E engine: The factory claims that a first time builder can complete the Chinook Plus 2 in 220 hours of labour. The rights to the Chinook Plus 2 were sold to US company, the Aeroplane Manufactory in 2013, which put the design back into production in 2016. The Chinook WT-11 design won Reserve Grand Champion at AirVenture in 1983 and again in 1984. In August 1983 test pilot Dennis Maland flew a WT-11 with the standard Rotax 277 engine to a height of . In November 1984 Jack Hughes flew a