Helicopter Industry Day in Russia Date in the current year: December 14, 2024

A helicopter is a rotary-wing aircraft that is able to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. Although the word “helicopter” was coined in 1861 and the first helicopter models were built around the same time, it wasn’t until 1907 that French inventor Paul Cornu became the first person to successfully fly a helicopter. Although the Cornu helicopter only rose about 2 meters above the ground and stayed aloft for less than a minute, it was a breakthrough in helicopter construction.

Russian American engineer George de Bothezat is credited with building the first successful helicopter. He emigrated to the United States after the Russian Revolution and built an experimental quadrotor helicopter for the US Army Air Service in 1922.

The history of helicopter construction in the Soviet Union (and, by extension, Russia) dates back to 1930, when two aeronautical engineers working at the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute (TsAGI) presented the first Soviet helicopter named the TsAGI 1-EA.

The first serial Soviet helicopter, the Mil Mi-1, was developed by the Mil Experimental Design Bureau in the late 1940s. The first aircraft were produced and entered service in 1950; mass production began in 1954. During the next few decades, several hundred helicopters (sometimes as many as 900) were produced in the Soviet Union every year.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the production of helicopters in Russia practically stopped for a few years. The country’s helicopter industry was revived through the joint efforts of the government and private businesses. In 2007, most of Russia’s helicopter manufacturers became part of Russian Helicopters, a helicopter design and manufacturing company whose principal shareholder is the state-owned corporation Rostec.

Russian Helicopter Industry Day was established in 2002 and has been celebrated annually ever since. Festive events and activities are held by member organizations of the Association of the Helicopter Industry, which unites companies engaged in various spheres of the industry, including helicopter production, aviation work, maintenance, pilot training, spare parts, fuel and lubricants production and distribution, etc.

First and foremost, Helicopter Industry Day is the professional holiday of all helicopter pilots, whose work is extremely important. It is thanks to them that remote regions receive essential goods and emergency assistance on time, and people are quickly and safely transported to a hospital when other modes of transportation are not an option. Of course, helicopter pilots also perform many other crucial tasks in various spheres.

In addition to pilots, Helicopter Industry Day is the professional holiday of all other people working in the helicopter industry, including engineers, mechanics, production and maintenance specialists, and other professionals.