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Whirlybird Brains: Stratford's National Helicopter Museum
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Business New Haven
6/14/99
By:
Priscilla Searles
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Thousands of people whiz by it each day traveling south on I-95, but relatively few stop by to sample its delights. Occupying one of Stratford's century-old train stations, the National Helicopter Museum celebrates an industry that many residents believe began in their town.
Indeed, the 15-year-old museum is the only institution in the country devoted solely to the helicopter. Igor Sikorsky made helicopter history when he developed the first practical, and then the first production, helicopters in Stratford. Lycoming, another Stratford company, itself made more than a small contribution to the helicopter industry, mainly producing engines. It was Avco-Lycoming, in fact, the made the museum possible with a grant to get it off the ground.
The small museum is a time-travel journey through the development of the helicopter. An outstanding collection of photographs traces the evolution of the helicopter from the days when it was merely an idea on paper to some of most advanced models produced in Connecticut - and the world. Not restricted to Connecticut companies, the photos include some of the earliest designs in helicopters - from some pretty strange looking birds by today's standards to many that look as though they might have been built only yesterday.
One of the museum's rare photos shows Igor Sikorsky in 1910 in his native Russia while he was attempting to develop a helicopter that would fly. The prominence of Connecticut in the industry can be seen in the exhibit, with names such as Charles Kaman of Bloomfield, Doman Helicopter in Danbury and Bendix Helicopters in Stratford.
Don Carroll is one of the museum's dedicated docents, a knowledgeable volunteer who conducts tours of the museum and delivers a commentary on the exhibitions. The museum's strength is its docent program: Many are retirees from the helicopter industry and the others have studied so much that they likewise have been experts on the subject.
Carroll, a member of the first helicopter unit in the U.S. armed forces (a Coast Guard unit formed in 1943 under Navy command), gushes enthusiasm when tracing the industry's growth through the photo images.
Young and old alike can't resist the temptation to sit in the S-76 Sikorsky cockpit, taking the stick in hand and flying an imaginary mission. For those who want a little instruction on how to fly a helicopter, the museum's collection of 50 videos includes everything one might imagine about the subject.
The addition several years ago of two gas turbine engines - a T55 cutaway and a T800 mockup donated by Allied Signal Training School - offers visitors a visual lesson on what a helicopter engine looks like and how it functions.
Plans for the future? The museum is working to get funding for a simulator, which it hopes will greatly enhance the intrigue of the facility and give additional props for its educational programming.
The National Helicopter Museum is open free to the public, which supports it through donations. It is open from Memorial Day to the middle of October, 1 to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.
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