Minnesota DNR's First Use Of Helicopters Has a Unique History

If you can get past the fact that they have way too many moving parts, Helicopters are wonderful aircraft. Igor Sikorsky developed the first practical machine for the US Army called the R-4. About 400 were built and mostly used for medical evacuation during WWII.

Helicopter flying during the Korean conflict was made famous by the movie and TV series MASH featuring the Bell 47. That same type was used by a Los Angeles TV station in 1958 as the first "eye and the sky" and called the "Telecopter." Helicopters have been used in agricultural aviation, servicing offshore platforms and are now vi...