The Helicopter Book Author:Henry B. Lent "According to all recognized aerodynamic tests, the bumblebee cannot fly because of the shape and weight of its body in relation to its total wing area. but the bumblebee does not know this. So it just goes ahead and flies anyway." This was the sign Igor Sikorsky tacked on the wall of his wall of his office in 1930 as an answer to those who h... more »ad no confidence in his plans for a new kind of flying machine - a machine that has since proved itself the perfect answer to an amazing number of tactical problems. For the story of the helicopter and of the men who build and fly them. Mr. Lent visited Mr. Skiorsky's factory, and he takes us with him on a fascinating tour that begins at the designer's drafting board and ends right up in the air withe the test pilot of a brand new S-55! We see, almost with our own eyes, how the whirlybird is designed and constructed, the test it is put through before it is checked out - and the performance it can give in the air. This is an exciting story with the details of every construction operation explained, and concludes with a number of thrilling accounts of helicopters at work.« less