Aero HC-2 Heli Baby

Aero HC-2 Heli Baby was a light two-seat utility Czechoslovak helicopter manufactured by Aero Vodochody in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It was the first and only Czechoslovak helicopter. It was designed by engineer Jaroslav Šlechta. The construction of the prototype began in 1951, followed by testing three years later. The first flight took place on 3 December 1954 and the helicopter was presented to the public in 1955. Its mass production was planned to begin in the Moravan Otrokovice factory in 1957 but was postponed for a year due to financial problems. Only 23 units were produced, although a lot more were planned for the Czechoslovak People’s Army. This was due to “mandatory” orders of the Soviet helicopters Mil Mi-1, Mil Mi-2 and Mil Mi-4. The produced units were given to Union for Cooperation with the Army and some of them were used for film making. Several units are on display in the National Technical Museum in Prague, in the aviation museum in Kbely, in Air Park in Plzeň, in the Military Technical Museum in Lešany and in the Technical Museum in Brno.

Heli Baby had a three-bladed main rotor and a two-bladed tail rotor, an all-metal frame and cockpit. The helicopter was intended for two people: one pilot and one passenger. It measured 10.5 metres in length and 2.3 metres in height. It weighed only 370 kilograms (maximum takeoff weight 585 kilograms), which made it one of the lightest two-seat helicopters in the world at the time. The helicopter was powered by a four-cylinder Praga DH engine with 83 horse powers, while the later, modernised versions were equipped with the more powerful Avia M 110 engine with 105 horse powers. Its maximum speed was 126 km/h (cruise speed 100 km/h) and maximum range 150 kilometres.