by Ann L. Cooper
This article first appeared in magazine, October 1996
The French consider an objet d'art to be a "relatively small" object of priceless beauty and/or value. In the case of the art of Andy Whyte, objets d'art refer to something much larger-canvases onto which Andy has painted, with his heart and soul, the aviation that he loves and, especially, the helicopters with which he has been intimately involved. For 40 years, Andrew Whyte engineered preliminary design with Sikorsky Aircraft. For 30 of those years, he has been an artist as well. Helicopters as subjects for his art are logical extensions of his lifelong concerns.
Andy, an Artist Fellow with the American Society of Aviation Artists (ASAA),
said, "The large role that is played today in military and civilian aviation
by rotary-winged craft has largely been neglected in aviation art. The subjects
of my paintings vary, but often involve plenty of helicopters. I'd like to
carve my own niche by specializing. Everybody paints P-51's."
If the purpose of aviation art is to skillfully depict the world of aviation--from a historical perspective, through present design and activities and on to stylized visions of the future--rotary-winged craft and the people involved with them are well represented by Andy. He was hired to work for the creative Igor Sikorsky, the "father of the helicopter industry," just twelve years after Sikorsky introduced the VS-300, the world's first practical helicopter in 1939.
Sikorsky studied the concept of vertical flight for 30 years before concocting what some in his employ teasingly called, "Igor's Nightmare," the rotary-winged craft that shook so much in early tethered tests that, to the viewers, Sikorsky and his craft were nothing but a blur. In 1941, having dismantled and reconstructed his VS-300 several times, he invited observers to a revolutionary flight--a startling display of upward, backward, sideward and twirling flight that had never before been seen and which also captured an endurance record of 1 hour and 32 minutes. Sikorsky's next task was to figure how to make the VS-300 undertake forward flight! Undaunted, he solved that complexity as well and the VS-300 went on to excite imaginations and to lead to further development.
The U.S. Army Air Corps
challenged Sikorsky to create a military bird and Sikorsky responded with
the XR-4, a larger and more powerful VS-300, which was completed by 1942.
A production contract led to manufacture of the R-4, the world's first production
helicopter. Followed by the R-5 and R-6, more than 400 were built and they
served with the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, and the British Navy
and Air Force during World War II.
Igor Sikorsky's first successful craft had been a fixed-wing craft, a huge four-engined Russian biplane that he created before the start of World War I. From this auspicious start, an amazing array of military and civilian rotary-winged craft has followed one another through the doors of Sikorsky Aircraft, many bearing the creative design inputs of Andy Whyte and all of which resulted in fine art paintings from his brush. His one desire is that a balance is achieved; that rotary-wing craft achieve a level in the art world that is commensurate with their actual and vital role in modern aviation.
At Sikorsky, Andrew Whyte was tasked as the Configuration Manager for Advanced VSTOL Aircraft. He explained, "I was challenged to start with a blank sheet of paper and to produce a helicopter. I generally produced layout work, or the `packaging' of the aircraft, including some preliminary aerodynamics, weight and balance, and initial sizing of all various components. My job was to respond to a Request for Proposal (RFP) issued by the U.S. Government, to create an aircraft that met all the proposed requirements and specifications and to come up with a finished design that could be readied for production."
An initial design from his drawing board received input from six or seven others. Andy said, "An aerodynamicist, a weights man, and transmission and rotor specialists were also involved. Having participated in some test flights, I find helicopters to be very versatile and very exciting. Generally flown at low altitudes, flight in helicopters gives one a vivid sense of motion when the terrain blurs just below. A dramatic tension is created when you are close to everything that you're trying not to hit!"
Andy, who graduated from the University of Oklahoma before being hired by Sikorsky, lives in Norwalk, Connecticut with his wife, Pat. He said, "I feel that my fine art is complimentary to the engineering work that I've done for Sikorsky. When we proposed a new aircraft, I did a painting of it that conceptualized the design and promoted it to the particular military service for which it was designed."
Andy often depicts helicopter scenes as seascapes, a natural milieu for the aircraft that has proven itself so valuable in air-sea rescue from the time of its inception to the missions of readiness to rescue our astronauts that continue to this day. The S-55 first flew in 1949 and served with all of the U.S. military services. In 1950, one was equipped by the U.S. Navy with sonar detection sensors which proved to be effective in anti-submarine warfare techniques. The S-55 became the first anti-sub warfare full-scale weapons system helicopter and its crewmen were capable of detecting, tracking and destroying hostile submarines. It also logged another dramatic Sikorsky first. The S-55 in 1953 was the world's first helicopter to be certificated by the CAA for scheduled passenger transportation.
In 1969, the first CH-53D
was accepted by the U.S. Marine Corps and the craft proved to be one of the
fastest and largest helicopters known at that time. The craft saw action
in Vietnam as a platform for hauling troops and cargo. The Air Force version,
the HH-53, was used to rescue downed airmen in Vietnam. In a vivid departure
from the vibrating blur that had been the first VS-300, the HH-53 had a top
speed of nearly 200 miles an hour and was twice the size of the HH-3E "Jolly
Green Giant" that saw so much action in Southeast Asia. The HH-53 boasted
in-flight refueling capability, was outfitted with three 7.62 mini-guns,
armor plating and the hoist that was so necessary for rescuing downed airmen
in hostile territory. Attesting to its agility, the CH-53D performed loops
and rolls at the hands of Byron Graham, Sikorsky test pilot, and co-pilot
Colonel Bob Gay, USMC.
By January of 1991, Sikorsky MH-53J Pave Low helicopters led the way for U.S. Army Apache attack helicopters to open routes through Iraq's air defense for the start of Operation Desert Storm. Special Operations Force helicopters are proclaimed to be the only night, adverse weather, transport helicopters and attest to the changes and the progress that occurred with Sikorsky Aircraft Company during Andy's tenure--from a historical perspective, through present design and on to the futuristic applications of rotary wing aircraft.
An award-winning artist, Andy's works are in more than private collections. Many, which remain as part of the Air Force inventory, have been commissioned through the Air Force Art Program, an involvement which came about through participation in the Society of Illustrators. In one of his latest paintings, presented to the United States Air Force, Andy has dramatically depicted the thrilling rescue of Scott O'Grady. Using two Cobras and two CH-53E Super Stallions for a dramatic daylight rescue, the U.S. Marines sprung a TRAP!
"The Marines call it TRAP, for Tactical Recovery of Aircraft or Personnel, and it worked like a charm. Just ask Basher 52, the radio call for Captain Scott F. O'Grady, the downed U.S. Air Force pilot who was snatched from hostile Bosnian Serb territory in a sunrise mission on June 8, 1995.
"Two U.S. Marine CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters from HMH-269, New River, North Carolina, carried the TRAP team from the U.S.S. Kearsarge under a multi-national aerial armada's protective umbrella.
"During the incoming flight,
the Sikorsky helicopters traveled toward the Dalmation coast at about 120
miles per hour. Each carried about 20 battle-ready Marines. After flying
a short holding pattern over the Adriatic Sea, they went inland to the downed
pilot's position, where O'Grady popped a yellow smoke flare. Landing about
50 yards away, the Marines from Dash 1, the lead CH-53E, established a defensive
perimeter. Suddenly, O'Grady made a break from a tree line, sprinting toward
his rescuers, pistol in hand.
"The cold, hungry pilot latched onto the outstretched hand of Colonel Marty Berndt, commanding officer of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, as he was hustled into Dash 2, the second Super Stallion.
"Aloft again several minutes later, the Super Stallions barreled back at treetop level for the 87-mile flight to the Kearsarge at 175 miles per hour, their pilots performing gut-slamming maneuvers to avoid hostile fire and power lines. Three small, shoulder-fired SA-7 missiles ripped past, followed by 7.62 mm. volleys."1
Captain Scott O'Grady, piloting his F-16C on a routine combat air patrol policing the NATO "No Fly Zone," was struck by a supersonic SA-6 SAM on the afternoon of June 2, 1995. His wingman watched in horror as the wings of O'Grady's jet crumpled and an orange fireball blossomed around the cockpit. Because a cloud bank obscured the jet within moments, he failed to see the parachute that carried O'Grady to the ground not far from the town of Bosanski Petrovac, a Bosnian Serb stronghold. O'Grady, however, dangling his lifeline, could see uniformed men pointing at him from the ground. As soon as he reached the ground, he ridded himself of his parachute and stumbled into thick foliage to evade what must have seemed like sure capture.
Rifles fired near his hiding place sent bullets whipping into the brush, miraculously missing the downed pilot. He stayed hidden during the days and traveled only in the nights, intent on reaching a plateau to which rescue helicopters might have access. After a grueling six-day ordeal, O'Grady gratefully and finally dashed to the open door of the Sikorsky CH-53E and the welcoming hands of some of the members of the combat search and rescue team.
A hero to all who know of his bravery, Scott O'Grady is the first to insist that those who rescued him deserve the credit. He was quoted as having said, "If it wasn't for God's love for me and my love for God, I wouldn't have gotten through it." He reserved "special thanks for the people at the pointy end of the spear--the Marines who had risked their lives to save him. He said, `If you want to find heroes, that's where you should look.'"2
Andy Whyte has recently attended a reception honoring Mr. Dimitry "Jimmie" Viner, nephew to Igor Sikorsky, on the 50th Anniversary of the First Civil Helicopter Rescue in which two men were plucked off an imperiled oil barge by a hoist. That dramatic rescue validated Sikorsky's dreams that the helicopter's greatest role could be humanitarian.
The dramatic rescue of Scott O'Grady s nothing if it is not humanitarian. The safety of one man is imperative, but that is compounded by that of all crewmembers who are risking their lives for one. In the suspenseful scene, Cobra gunships, guarding the action, circle warily above. Rain and thick fog fanned by the whirling blades of the two Super Stallions rise, almost obscuring the stealthy forms of Marines. Quickly marshaling to give added protection to O'Grady, the Marines move out, their rifles ready and, simultaneously, O'Grady daringly plunges out of the thick underbrush, brandishing his pistol. The tension is palpable. The helicopter itself looks as if it is crouching anxiously, responding to command like a sheep dog that has been told to stay, but can barely contain his eagerness to be off.
"The story of air rescues by airplanes, and lately by helicopters, is particularly dear to me, and, to my mind, forms one of the most glorious pages of human flight." That statement was made by the late Igor Sikorsky in 1967.
In his paintings, Sikorsky's engineer, Andrew Whyte, has captured and continues to capture those "most glorious pages of human flight." His paintings document the story of U.S. helicopter design development. They demonstrate his deep admiration for rotary-wing craft and also often transcend history to preserve exciting scenes that evoke emotions and critical appreciation, creating paintings and prints that art lovers are proud to collect and to exhibit.
1 "Bosnia Rescue," Sikorsky Lifeline, Helicopter Humanitarian Missions, Stratford, CT., Fall/Winter 1995-1996, Page 5.
2 McConnell, Malcolm; "PILOT DOWN: The Rescue of Scott O'Grady," READER'S DIGEST, November 1995, Pages 81-88.
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