The History of
Transatlantic Helicopter Flight

Two U.S. Air Force Sikorsky HH-3E "Jolly Green Giant" performed theWorld's first transatlantic non-stop helicopter flight in 1967.

1952 -

World's first transatlantic helicopter crossing. Two U.S. Air Force Sikorsky H-19s traveled from the U.S. to Wiesbaden, Germany with stops in Labrador, Greenland, Iceland, Scotland, and the Netherlands on their way. Total flight time was about 52 hours, but because of stops the trip took 21 days.

1953 -

Second transatlantic helicopter crossing. A U.S. Air Force Sikorsky CH-3B stopped in Labrador, Baffin Island, Greenland, Iceland and Scotland en route to the Paris Air Show.

1967 -

World's first transatlantic non-stop helicopter flight. Two U.S. Air Force Sikorsky HH-3E "Jolly Green Giant" search and rescue helicopters departed New York on May 31st on their way to a 30 hour 46 minute flight to Paris. Refueled nine times each by C-130 tanker planes at altitudes of between 1,000 and 9,000 feet and speeds of 125 mph, the helicopters landed at Le Bourget during the 27th Paris Air Show. The two helicopters took off at 1:05 in the morning, New York time, in order to arrive during the middle of "Helicopter Day" at 1:51 in the afternoon, Paris time.

Refueling helicopters from tanker planes was first attempted in 1965. After early success, the technique was refined, leading to the decision to produce all later HH-3Es with refueling probes that partially retracted into the fuselage until needed.

1997 -

Many transatlantic helicopter flights have been made since 1952. With the exception of military helicopters using tanker plane refueling, no "non-stop" helicopter crossings have been attempted or completed.

Ron Bower and Dick Smith

Another daring helicopter pilot is Ron Bower, cofounder and vice president of Austin Jet International in Austin, TX. On one scorching Texas summer morning in June 1994, Bower climbed aboard his 206B-3 Jet Ranger III and took off. Twenty four days, four hours, 36 minutes and 24 seconds later, he returned. His helicopter had logged 229:22 flight hours, taking Bower across some 20,320 nm. As reported in Rotor & Wing magazine, Bower's attempt did more than prove his belief in helicopter reliability. His attempt established a world record for a solo helicopter flight around the world. He proved the reliability of the Bell 206B-3 and its technological capabilities.

Bower's feat was a product of baited conversations with daredevil Dick Smith, who was the first to circle the globe solo in a helicopter in 1983. (It took him 11 months.)

In the summer of 1993, Bower and his wife Peggy visited Smith and his spouse Pip in Australia. From that trip, Bower knew a world-wide adventure was going to happen. According to Bower, "When we went to the Sydney aeronautical museum and I saw Dick's helicopter there, three things hit me. First, the technology has changed over the past 12 years related to GPS and communication via satellite. It's very different from what Smith and Ross Perot, Jr. [who established a world-wide helicopter flight record with Jay Colburn in 1982] had to deal with using Omega. Secondly, both Smith and Perot had to hire an ocean-going vessel and predisposition it between Japan and the Aleutians for refueling. I could never afford that. But with Russia open, I would have a whole different flight course. And the last thing, I had a better flight background- with age and experience - than Dick and Ross did when they flew the trip.

Since 1982, when Austin Jet was formed, Bower has flown more than 500 206Bs in 22 countries. His first adventure trip was a flight from London to Jerusalem, totaling about 2,950-nm.

As for Smith, his trip may have taken a leisurely 11 months, but this pilot doesn't plan to quit anytime soon. He is writing books, he is making plans and his next feat is no less ambitious than circling the earth. Over a five year period, Smith intends to make his S-76 "an airborne version of Jacques-Yves Cousteau's Calypso." Like the underwater explorer, Smith plans to fly the new helicopter to remote parts of the world, in every continent including Antarctica. During his expedition in the skies, Smith says he plans to produce documentary films and books (one for each continent) that "highlight the remaining natural wonders of our planet."

He said he is planning to plan the trip as he goes.

This information was reported previously in the October issue of Rotor & Wing magazine.

La Guacamaya

In 1992, Venezuelan helicopter pilots Francisco Pacheco and Tomas Spanier flew a record-setting, trans-Atlantic trek from Venezuela to Spain on a MD 500D. Beginning on October 11, 1992, from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., and ending at Palos de la Frontera on December 16, the flight was marked as the longest over-ocean flight

Inspired by history, the two pilots circled in reverse Columbus' third voyage, which marked the explorer's first landing in Venezuela.