Helicopters are used in many fields such as transportation, patrol, tourism, and rescue.
The outstanding feature of the helicopter is that it can maneuver at low altitude (a few meters above the ground), low speed (starting from hovering) and the direction of the nose remains unchanged. In particular, it can take off and land vertically in a small area. Because of these characteristics, it has broad uses and development prospects.
In military applications, it has been widely used in ground attack, aircraft landing, weapons transportation, logistics support, battlefield rescue, reconnaissance and patrol, command and control, communications, anti-submarine mine clearance, electronic countermeasures, etc. In civilian applications, it is used in short-distance transportation, medical rescue, disaster relief and lifesaving, emergency rescue, hoisting equipment, geological exploration, forest protection and fire extinguishing, aerial photography, etc.
Helicopter speed:
The helicopter’s maximum speed can reach more than 300km/h, its dive limit speed is nearly 400km/h, and its practical ceiling can reach 6,000 meters (the world record is 12450m), the general range can reach about 600~800km. The transfer range with internal and external auxiliary fuel tanks can reach more than 2,000km. Helicopters have different takeoff weights according to different needs.
The largest heavy-duty helicopter currently in use in the world is the Russian Mi-26 (maximum take-off weight of 56t, payload of 20t). Currently, mechanically driven single-rotor helicopters and dual-rotor helicopters are in practical application, among which single-rotor helicopters have the largest number.
Reference for the above content: Baidu Encyclopedia—Helicopter