DE BOTHEZAT HELICOPTER SETS NEW AIR RECORD
Dayton, Ohio (JFK+50) On February 21, 1923, "a new record was set by the de Bothezat* helicopter" which stayed in the air for 2 minutes 45 seconds. This surpassed the previous record of 1 minute 40 seconds set on December 18, 1922.
On this flight the helicopter reached a record height of 15 feet surpassing the previous mark of 8 feet.
According to the Associated Press, the helicopter is being perfected by the United States Aerial Service at McCook Field here in Dayton.
JFK+50 NOTE
President Eisenhower was the first POTUS to ride in a helicopter & to use it as a regular means of travel. It was known as HMX1 or "Marine One."
The helicopter has been used to transport presidents for more than 60 years. Landings & take-offs on the White House South lawn are well known. Pilots say there is "only one way in & one way out."
*George de Bothezat (1882-1940) was born in St. Petersburg, Russia & educated at Kharkov Polytechnic Institute, 1908 & University of Paris, PhD 1911. GdB was a Romanian-Russian-American self-described as the world's greatest scientist."
SOURCES
"Helicopter Stays In Air 2 Minutes; Goes Up 15 Feet," The Evening Star, Washington, D.C., February 21, 1923, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/
"The President's Helicopter" & "The 1600s Sessions Podcast," The White House Historical Society, www.whitehousehistory.org/
