In a paper such as this, where I am asked to point a critical finger at the problems which we have to face in developing the helicopter for civil operation, it is inevitable that I should call attention to the shortcomings of the helicopters on which our experience rests so far We have to remember that it is only a few short years since the helicopter reached the stage when it could be put in the hands of operators, and that the types on which the whole of our experience is based were born in the stress of the war years when they had to be put into use just as soon as they worked reasonably well We have to admit that in many respects they are relatively crude in design, but, nonetheless, they have demonstrated that the helicopter is a practical transport vehicle and they have proved their worth in many fields The helicopter has definitely arrived and will take its place in Civil Aviation as complementary to the fixed wing aeroplane for normal transport operations, and in a sphere entirely its own where its special characteristics make it capable of doing work which no other vehicle can perform