The first controlled and sustained flight of an airplane was conducted in December of 1903 by the Wright Brothers. Years passed and airplanes became increasingly more sophisticated and powerful, but their design and functaionality had several limitations—they needed a long runway to take off and land, and they weren't all that effective for certain purposes. These problems were solved, however, when another powerful flying machine was invented—the helicopter! A helicopter or 'chopper' is a type of aircraft that uses rotating wings called rotor blades to fly; they are a critical component of any helicopter's flight. Helicopters have several advantages over fixed-wing aircraft. First of all, they don't need long runways to operate. They can take off and land pretty much anywhere. It doesn't matter if you're in the middle of a forest or the backyard of a house. This comes in very handy during military operations or even civilian and medical emergencies. Choppers can also pause mid-flight to load and unload cargo, which is why they're so widely used during rescue operations around the world. Although helicopters can't go as fast as airplanes, they are much more maneuverable and offer a great deal of flexibility in terms of the places you can go.