Curious About Helicopters

PODCAST 115: CURIOUS ABOUT HELICOPTERS
RELEASE DATE:  DECEMBER 13TH, 2020

CURIOUS KID PODCAST THEME MUSIC

D:  HELLO, AND WELCOME BACK TO THE CURIOUS KID PODCAST.  OLIVIA’S BROTHER, NOAH, LOVES VEHICLES.  WHENEVER WE ARE IN THE CAR TOGETHER, HE ALWAYS POINTS OUT THE INTERESTING VEHICLES HE SEES AS THEY PASS US BY.  HE IS GOING TO BE PUMPED FOR THIS WEEK’S TOPIC.

O:  MAILBAG!

D:  MAILBAG!

THIS WEEK’S EMAIL COMES FROM 5 YEAR OLD LANDON OF SARATOGA SPRINGS.  THE E-MAIL SAYS “LANDON HAS A FEW SUGGESTIONS.  HERE ARE HIS SUGGESTIONS.  I WOULD LOVE TO KNOW ABOUT POLICE OFFICERS AND FIREFIGHTERS, AND I WOULD LOVE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT HELICOPTERS!”

O:  THANKS FOR YOUR AWESOME SUGGESTIONS.  WE ARE GETTING CURIOUS ABOUT HELICOPTERS FOR LANDON.  

D:  WE ALSO WANT LANDON TO KNOW THAT WE GOT CURIOUS ABOUT FIRE IN EPISODE 42, AND OLIVIA INTERVIEWED A FIREFIGHTER IN THAT EPISODE, SO GIVE IT A LISTEN.  AND, IF YOU LOVE HELICOPTERS, YOU MAY ALSO WANT TO CHECK OUT EPISODE 17 ON AIRPLANES.

O:  IN THAT EPISODE, I INTERVIEWED A NAVY PILOT.

D:  THAT EPISODE WAS SO MUCH FUN, AND IT HELPS INTRODUCE SOME OF THE CONCEPTS WE ARE GOING TO COVER IN TODAY’S HELICOPTER EPISODE.  OKAY OLIVIA, WHAT’S THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK?

O:  THE QUESTION OF THE QEEK IS, WHAT IS THE NAME FOR THE LANDING AREA OR PLATFORM THAT HELICOPTERS LAND ON?

D:  WHILE YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT THE ANSWER, LET’S LEARN WHAT THE WORD HELICOPTER MEANS.  YOU CAN FIGURE OUT THE MEANING BY BREAKING THE WORD HELICOPTER INTO 2 PARTS.

O:  “HELICO” MEANS SPIRAL, AND THE LETTERS “P-T-E-R” MEAN MADE WITH WINGS.

D:  SO, PUT IT ALL TOGETHER, AND YOU GET SPIRAL MADE WITH WINGS, AND THAT MAKES SENSE.  HELICOPTERS ARE KNOWN AS VERTICAL TAKEOFF AND LANDING CRAFTS (OR VTOL FOR SHORT).  

O:  THAT’S BECAUSE IT IS THE ONLY AIRCRAFT THAT CAN MOVE FORWARD, BACKWARD, SIDEWAYS, AND IT CAN HOVER TOO.  

D:  IT CAN ALSO TAKE-OFF AND LAND IN VERY SMALL SPACES.  AIRPLANES, ON THE OTHER HAND, ARE NOT CAPABLE OF MOVING BACKWARDS, SIDE-TO-SIDE, OR HOVERING, AND THEY REQUIRE A RUNWAY FOR TAKE-OFF AND LANDING.  LET’S LEARN SOME OF THE HISTORY OF THE HELICOPTER.

O:  ALMOST TWENTY-FIVE HUNDRED YEARS AGO, THE CHINESE INVENTED A TOY THAT HAD SIMILAR FEATURES TO A HELICOPTER.

D:  BUT IT WASN’T UNTIL THE 15TH CENTURY THAT SOMEONE DREW SKETCHES OF HELICOPTERS AND THOUGHT THEY WOULD BE CAPABLE OF CARRYING PEOPLE.  THAT SOMEONE WAS ANATOMIST, ARCHITECT, ARTIST, BOTANIST, ENGINEER, INVENTOR, MATHEMATICIAN, MUSICIAN, SCIENTIST, SCULPTOR, AND WRITER LEONARDO DA VINVI, ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE IN HISTORY.       

O:  OVER THE NEXT FEW CENTURIES, MANY PEOPLE WOULD TRY TO PERFECT THE HELICOPTER.

D:  IN 1907, A MAN BY THE NAME OF PAUL CORNU BUILT A HELICOPTER THAT LIFTED OFF THE GROUND, BUT IT WAS TIED DOWN BY ROPES.  9 YEARS LATER, STEFAN PETROCZY AND THEODORE VON KARMAN BUILT A HELICOPTER THAT WORKED, BUT DIDN’T CARRY PASSENGERS.  IT WASN’T UNTIL 1938 THAT GERMANY MADE THE FIRST OFFICIAL HELICOPTER.  THE FIRST MANNED FLIGHT IN THE UNITED STATES WAS SUCCESSFULLY CARRIED OUT BY IGOR SIKORSKY IN 1939.

O:  SO, HELICOPTERS HAVE ONLY BEEN IN USE FOR ABOUT 80 YEARS.

D:  BUT THEY HAVE BECOME REALLY POPULAR AND THERE ARE OVER 360,000 HELICOPTERS IN USE WORLDWIDE TODAY, BECAUSE THEY ARE BETTER AT DOING SO MANY THINGS THAN OTHER AIRCRAFTS.

O:  THEY ARE GREAT FOR SEARCH AND RESCUE MISSIONS TO SAVE PEOPLE WHO ARE IN TROUBLE.

D:  THEY ALSO FUNCTION TO TRANSPORT PEOPLE WHO ARE HURT OR ILL TO A HOSPITAL FOR CARE.  THEY ARE VERY EFFECTIVE IN FIGHTING FIRES AS WELL, BECAUSE THEY ARE CAPABLE OF DROPPING LOTS OF WATER OR OTHER FIRE RETARDANTS ONTO A BURNING FIRE.  THEY ALSO HAVE MILITARY USES AND THEY ARE USED BY NEWS OUTLETS TO REPORT NEWS WITH VIDEO.  LET’S LEARN HOW HELICOPTERS WORK.

O:  IN ORDER TO FLY, THEY NEED TO GET LIFT.  THAT’S THE FORCE THAT LIFTS HELICOPTERS UP.

D:  THAT’S NO DIFFERENT THAN AIRPLANES THAT ALSO NEED LIFT TO FLY UP.  THE WAY AIRPLANES AND HELICOPTERS ACHIEVE LIFT IS DIFFERENT THOUGH.  AIRPLANES USE THEIR WINGS, THAT HAVE A SPECIAL SHAPE DESIGNED TO LIFT THE PLANE OFF THE GROUND.

O:  HELICOPTERS DON’T HAVE WINGS.  THE GIANT BLADES ON TOP OF THE HELICOPTER SPIN SUPER FAST, ALLOWING AIR TO LIFT THE HELICOPTER OFF THE GROUND.  

D:  THE BLADES SPIN SO FAST THAT HELICOPTERS ARE VERY NOISY AND THEY SHAKE A LOT.  

O:  THE NOISE AND SHAKING CAN BE VERY SCARY IF YOU AREN’T USED TO IT.

D:  WHEN YOU ARE THOUSANDS OF FEET IN THE AIR, THE LAST THING YOU MAY WANT TO EXPERIENCE IS LOUD NOISE AND SHAKING.  

O:  ARE HELICOPTERS SAFE?

D:  THEY ARE VERY SAFE.  HELICOPTER CRASHES ARE RARE, AND MANY OF THE CRASHES THAT DO HAPPEN ARE LINKED TO PILOTS THAT DO NOT TAKE THE PROPER SAFETY MEASURES, INCREASING THE RISK OF THEIR FLIGHTS.  FOR EXAMPLE, THERE ARE CERTAIN CONDITIONS THAT WOULD MAKE FLYING A HELICOPTER VERY DIFFICULT.

O:  HELICOPTERS ARE HARDER TO USE IN BAD WEATHER AND AT NIGHT THAN AIRPLANES.  

D:  BUT, AS WITH OTHER VEHICLES, THEY CAN BE VERY SAFE IF THE PROPER PRECAUTIONS ARE TAKEN.  

O:  THERE IS A PART OF THE HELICOPTER CALLED THE JESUS NUT.

D:  A NUT IS A PIECE OF HARDWARE THAT IS USED TO ATTACH DIFFERENT PARTS OF SOMETHING.  IN THE CASE OF THE HELICOPTER, THE JESUS NUT IS USED TO ATTACH THE ROTOR WITH THE BODY OF THE HELICOPTER.  THE ROTOR IS THE PART OF THE HELICOPTER THAT HELPS SPIN THE BLADES.  AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, THE JESUS NUT IS A VERY IMPORTANT PIECE OF HARDWARE IN THE AIRPLANE.  IN THE VIETNAM WAR, HELICOPTERS WERE WIDELY USED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN ANY WAR SETTING.  SOLDIERS WERE TOLD THAT IF THE NUT CONNECTING THE ROTOR TO THE HELICOPTER WERE TO BREAK, THEY SHOULD “PRAY TO JESUS” BECAUSE IT WOULD MAKE IT MUCH MORE DANGEROUS TO FLY THE HELICOPTER.  SINCE THEN, THE NUT HAS COMMONLY BEEN REFERRED TO AS THE JESUS NUT.  DESPITE THE CONCERN, IT IS VERY UNUSUAL FOR ANYTHING WRONG TO HAPPEN WITH THE JESUS NUT.  OKAY, WE ALREADY LEARNED WHY HELICOPTERS COULD BE BETTER THAN AIRPLANES IN CERTAIN SITUATIONS.  DO HELICOPTERS HAVE ANY DRAWBACKS THOUGH?

O:  ONE DRAWBACK OF HELICOPTERS IS THAT THEY ARE SMALL AND CAN’T CARRY A LOT OF PEOPLE LIKE AIRPLANES CAN.

D:  THAT’S TRUE.  MANY HELICOPTERS ARE ONLY CAPABLE OF CARRYING ABOUT 5 PEOPLE, AND THAT INCLUDES THE PILOT AND CO-PILOT.  

O:  AIRPLANES ALSO USUALLY FLY FASTER AND CAN FLY FOR LONGER THAN HELICOPTERS.  

D:  THAT DOESN’T MEAN THAT HELICOPTERS ARE SLOW OR THAT THEY CAN’T FLY FAR.  THE FASTEST SPEED RECORDED BY A HELICOPTER WAS 248 MILES, OR 400 KILOMETERS, PER HOUR.  THERE ARE ALSO HELICOPTERS CAPABLE OF FLYING OVER 1,000 MILES WITHOUT REFUELING.  EVEN SO, AIRPLANES ARE STILL CAPABLE OF GOING FASTER AND FLYING LONGER THAN HELICOPTERS.  OKAY, LET’S ANSWER THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK.  WHAT’S THE NAME OF THE LANDING PAD OR PLATFORM THAT HELICOPTERS LAND ON?

O:  HELICOPTERS LAND ON A HELIPAD.  HELIPADS CAN BE ON TOP OF SKYSCRAPERS, ON TOP OF HOSPITALS, OR EVEN ON TOP OF SHIPS.

D:  HELICOPTERS ARE SO INTERESTING.  I REALLY ENJOYED LEARNING ABOUT THEM.  WELL, THAT’S A WRAP FOR THIS WEEK’S EPISODE.

O:  115 - HELICOPTERS.

D:  GREAT JOB OLIVIA, AND GREAT JOB LANDON FOR GIVING US THE IDEA TO GET CURIOUS ABOUT HELICOPTERS.  IT’S HOLIDAY SEASON.  IF YOU ARE THINKING OF A GREAT GIFT FOR THE CURIOUS KID IN YOUR LIFE, CHECK OUT OUR MERCHANDISE SHOP.   IT CAN BE FOUND AT TEEPUBLIC.COM OR BY CLICKING ON THE LINK IN THE SHOW NOTES.  THERE ARE TONS OF GREAT THINGS YOU CAN GET IN OUR MERCH SHOP.  IF YOU LOVE CURIOUS KID PODCAST, YOU CAN ALSO SUPPORT THE SHOW ON PATREON… THAT’S P-A-T-R-E-O-N.  DON’T FORGET THAT, STARTING NEXT MONTH, WE ARE GOING TO RECORD ONCE MONTHLY CURRENT EVENTS EPISODES THAT ARE GOING TO BE AVAILABLE FOR PATREON SUPPORTERS ONLY.  EVERY MONTH, WE ARE GOING TO COVER 5 CURRENT EVENTS TOPICS IN A “THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW” FORMAT, DESIGNED TO KEEP YOUR CURIOUS KIDS ENGAGED AND INTERESTED IN CURRENT EVENTS IN A FUN WAY.  YOU CAN FIND A LINK TO OUR PATREON PAGE IN THE SHOW NOTES.  NEXT WEEK, WE WILL GET CURIOUS ABOUT COMPUTERS FOR A LISTENER IN FORT WORTH, TEXAS.  AS ALWAYS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LISTENING AND GETTING CURIOUS WITH US.