First loop-the-loop in a helicopter

On 19 May 1949, test pilot Harold E "Tommy" Thompson (USA) performed the first intentional loop-the-loop in a helicopter, a Sikorsky S-52. He went on to execute 10 perfect loops that day. The feat was achieved at the Sikorsky helicopter plant in Bridgeport, Connecticut, USA.

Performing a loop-the-loop in a helicopter is not straightforward because the rotor blades provide both the lift and forward propulsion – tasks that are performed separately by the wing and the propeller on an aeroplane. The feat is only possible in agile helicopters with a high power-to-weight ratio, such as the Westland Lynx and the Boeing AH-64 Apache.

In addition to being the first pilot to loop a helicopter, Thompson also set two helicopter speed records in the Sikorsky S-52, and was the first pilot to land in the inner court of the Pentagon building.