Da Vinci’s design was the first of its kind,
when the concept of flight was a dream,
was the first to imply that a person could fly –
with the help of a splendid machine.
A craft for the sky that could not only fly,
but could hover – suspended in place,
with a rotor on top, it could come to a stop
and then land in the tiniest space.
Viewed as a gaffe, the naysayers would laugh
at a jester’s ridiculous spew –
that his sketches and words could turn men into birds,
was a dream that would never come true.
Centuries passed and the challenge would last,
just to prove that Da Vinci was right –
inventors ensued with designs that were crude,
but not one of them ever took flight.
Some were refined by the brightest of minds,
then constructed and shown for review –
but all were in vain ‘till a man from Ukraine
built a chopper that actually flew.
Thousands would soar in the Vietnam war,
where performance went better than planned –
and a wave of recruits sporting helmets and boots
would return to take cyclic in hand.
But ships of the day took a bundle of pay
to procure and to keep in the air –
there was no place to go for the average Joe,
those without a small fortune to spare.
That soon caught the ear of a young engineer
who would also be feeling their pain –
so Frank would come through with the R-22
that was simple and cheap to maintain.
They came off the line back in ‘79
to a market with heated demand –
with a price that’s on par with a luxury car,
they would soon be the rave of the land.
Built by the rules, they were perfect for schools
and were hailed as the trainer of choice –
for a nominal fee, many pilots-to-be
became students with cause to rejoice.
His ship was designed with consumers in mind,
on a pair of expendable rails
that are structured to spread if the engine goes dead –
so the life of the pilot prevails.
But Frank wasn’t through – there was more work to do,
so he gave us a little bit more –
some additional some grit and more places to sit
in the form of the R-44.
So much has transpired since Da Vinci retired
and I’m sure that he smiles from above –
but it’s Igor and Frank that a lot have to thank
for the sport that we’ve all come to love.