The Future of the Helicopter (1955)

The April 30, 1955 issue of Pacific Stars and Stripes (Tokyo, Japan) ran this short piece about the future of the helicopter. While it's certainly up for debate, I think the "hoppi-copter" pictured in the article below may be the most dangerous flying machine this side of a flying Ford Pinto. 

The many different shapes and sizes helicopter-like flying machines have assumed in recent years were designed mainly for military use but the future promises civilian occupations for almost all of them.

The Navy's new "flying platform" is a recent example. The machine consists of a wingless circular platform. It contains two fans rotating in opposite directions and producing an air blast that lifts and propels the platform.

Inexpensive and so simple to operate it could serve as an assault boat for the individual solider, it also may be the businessman's speedy coupe of the future.

Another unusual whirlybird is the "portable helicopter," a four-bladed rotor and engine weighing 60 pounds. To fly, the operator simply straps the contraption on his back, starts the motor and takes off.

In war the infantryman might use it for airborne assaults. In peacetime the Dodger fan could take in a double header without having to fight stadium crowds on the way to the game.