A police department Bell 206 helicopter

A Spanish Maritime Safety Agency AW139SAR rescue helicopter

A helicopter (informally known as a "chopper" or a "helo") is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally. These attributes allow helicopters to be used in congested or isolated areas where fixed-wing aircraft would usually not be able to take off or land. The capability to efficiently hover for extended periods of time allows a helicopter to accomplish tasks that fixed-wing aircraft and other forms of vertical takeoff and landing aircraft cannot perform.

The word helicopter is adapted from the French hélicoptère, coined by Gustave de Ponton d'Amecourt in 1861, which originates from the Greek helix/helik- (ἕλιξ) = "twisted, curved"^[1] and pteron (πτερόν) = "wing".^[2][3][4]

Helicopters were developed and built during the first half-century of flight, with the Focke-Wulf Fw 61 being the first operational helicopter in 1936. Some helicopters reached limited production, but it was not until 1942 that a helicopter designed by Igor Sikorsky reached full-scale production,^[5] with 131 aircraft built.^[6] Though most earlier designs used more than one main rotor, it is the single main rotor with anti-torque tail rotor configuration that has become the most common helicopter configuration. Tandem rotor helicopters are also in widespread use, due to their better payload capacity. Quadrotor helicopters and other types of multicopter have been developed for specialized applications.

History[link]

The earliest references for vertical flight have come from China. Since around 400 BC,^[7] Chinese children have played with bamboo flying toys,^[8][9] and the 4th-century AD Daoist book Baopuzi (抱朴子 "Master who Embraces Simplicity") reportedly describes some of the ideas inherent to rotary wing aircraft:^[10]

da Vinci's "aerial screw"

It was not until the early 1480s, when Leonardo da Vinci created a design for a machine that could be described as an "aerial screw", that any recorded advancement was made towards vertical flight. His notes suggested that he built small flying models, but there were no indications for any provision to stop the rotor from making the craft rotate.^[12][13] As scientific knowledge increased and became more accepted, men continued to pursue the idea of vertical flight. Many of these later models and machines would more closely resemble the ancient bamboo flying top with spinning wings, rather than Da Vinci's screw.

Prototype created by M. Lomonosov, 1754

In July 1754, Mikhail Lomonosov demonstrated a small tandem rotor to the Russian Academy of Sciences. It was powered by a spring and suggested as a method to lift meteorological instruments. In 1783, Christian de Launoy, and his mechanic, Bienvenu, made a model with a pair of counter-rotating rotors, using turkey flight feathers as rotor blades, and in 1784, demonstrated it to the French Academy of Sciences. Sir George Cayley, influenced by a childhood fascination with the Chinese flying top, grew up to develop a model of feathers, similar to Launoy and Bienvenu, but powered by rubber bands. By the end of the century, he had progressed to using sheets of tin for rotor blades and springs for power. His writings on his experiments and models would become influential on future aviation pioneers.^[12] Alphonse Pénaud would later develop coaxial rotor model helicopter toys in 1870, also powered by rubber bands. One of these toys, given as a gift by their father, would inspire the Wright brothers to pursue the dream of flight.^[14]

In 1861, the word "helicopter" was coined by Gustave de Ponton d'Amécourt, a French inventor who demonstrated a small, steam-powered model. While celebrated as an innovative use of a new metal, aluminum, the model never lifted off the ground. D'Amecourt's linguistic contribution would survive to eventually describe the vertical flight he had envisioned. Steam power was popular with other inventors as well. In 1878 Enrico Forlanini's unmanned helicopter was also powered by a steam engine. It was the first of its type that rose to a height of 12 meters (40 ft), where it hovered for some 20 seconds after a vertical take-off. Emmanuel Dieuaide's steam-powered design featured counter-rotating rotors powered through a hose from a boiler on the ground.^[12]

In 1885, Thomas Edison was given US$1,000 by James Gordon Bennett, Jr., to conduct experiments towards developing flight. Edison built a helicopter and used the paper for a stock ticker to create guncotton, with which he attempted to power an internal combustion engine. The helicopter was damaged by explosions and one of his workers was badly burned. Edison reported that it would take a motor with a ratio of three to four pounds per horsepower produced to be successful, based on his experiments.^[15] Ján Bahýľ, a Slovak inventor, adapted the internal combustion engine to power his helicopter model that reached a height of 0.5 meters (1.6 ft) in 1901. On 5 May 1905, his helicopter reached four meters (13 ft) in altitude and flew for over 1,500 meters (4,900 ft).^[16] In 1908, Edison patented his own design for a helicopter powered by a gasoline engine with box kites attached to a mast by cables for a rotor, but it never flew.^[17]

First flights[link]

Paul Cornu's helicopter in 1907

In 1906, two French brothers, Jacques and Louis Breguet, began experimenting with airfoils for helicopters and in 1907, those experiments resulted in the Gyroplane No.1. Although there is some uncertainty about the dates, sometime between 14 August and 29 September 1907, the Gyroplane No. 1 lifted its pilot up into the air about two feet (0.6 m) for a minute.^[5] However, the Gyroplane No. 1 proved to be extremely unsteady and required a man at each corner of the airframe to hold it steady. For this reason, the flights of the Gyroplane No. 1 are considered to be the first manned flight of a helicopter, but not a free or untethered flight.

That same year, fellow French inventor Paul Cornu designed and built a Cornu helicopter that used two 20-foot (6 m) counter-rotating rotors driven by a 24 hp (18 kW) Antoinette engine. On 13 November 1907, it lifted its inventor to 1 foot (0.3 m) and remained aloft for 20 seconds. Even though this flight did not surpass the flight of the Gyroplane No. 1, it was reported to be the first truly free flight with a pilot.^{[n 1]} Cornu's helicopter would complete a few more flights and achieve a height of nearly 6.5 feet (2 m), but it proved to be unstable and was abandoned.^[5]

The Danish inventor Jacob Ellehammer built the Ellehammer helicopter in 1912. It consisted of a frame equipped with two counter-rotating discs, each of which was fitted with six vanes around its circumference. After a number of indoor tests, the aircraft was demonstrated outdoors and made a number of free take-offs. Experiments with the helicopter continued until September 1916, when it tipped over during take-off, destroying its rotors.^[18]

Early development[link]

In the early 1920s, Argentine Raúl Pateras-Pescara de Castelluccio, while working in Europe, demonstrated one of the first successful applications of cyclic pitch.^[5] Coaxial, contra-rotating, biplane rotors could be warped to cyclically increase and decrease the lift they produced. The rotor hub could also be tilted forward a few degrees, allowing the aircraft to move forward without a separate propeller to push or pull it. Pateras-Pescara was also able to demonstrate the principle of autorotation. By January 1924, Pescara's helicopter No. 1 was tested but was found underpowered and could not lift its own weight. The British government funded further research by Pescara which resulted in helicopter No. 3, powered by a 250 hp radial engine which could fly for up to ten minutes.^[19][20]

Oehmichen N°2 1923

On 14 April 1924 Frenchman Etienne Oehmichen, set the first helicopter world record recognized by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), flying his quadrotor helicopter 360 meters (1,181 ft). On 18 April 1924, Pescara beat Oemichen's record, flying for a distance of 736 meters (nearly a half mile) in 4 minutes and 11 seconds (about 8 mph, 13 km/h) maintaining a height of six feet (1.8 meters).^[21] On 4 May, Oehmichen set the first 1 km closed-circuit helicopter flight in 7 minutes 40 seconds with his No. 2 machine.^[22][5]

In the USA, George de Bothezat built the quadrotor De Bothezat helicopter for the United States Army Air Service but the Army cancelled the program in 1924, and the aircraft was scrapped.

Meanwhile, Juan de la Cierva was developing the first practical rotorcraft in Spain. In 1923, the aircraft that would become the basis for the modern helicopter rotor began to take shape in the form of an autogyro, Cierva's C.4.^[23] Cierva had discovered aerodynamic and structural deficiencies in his early designs that could cause his autogyros to flip over after takeoff. The flapping hinges that Cierva designed for the C.4 allowed the rotor to develop lift equally on the left and right halves of the rotor disk. A crash in 1927, led to the development of a drag hinge to relieve further stress on the rotor from its flapping motion.^[23] These two developments allowed for a stable rotor system, not only in a hover, but in forward flight.

Albert Gillis von Baumhauer, a Dutch aeronautical engineer, began studying rotorcraft design in 1923. His first prototype "flew" ("hopped" and hovered in reality) on 24 September 1925, with Dutch Army-Air arm Captain Floris Albert van Heijst at the controls. The controls that Captain van Heijst used were Von Baumhauer's inventions, the cyclic and collective. Patents were granted to von Baumhauer for his cyclic and collective controls by the British ministry of aviation on 31 January 1927, under patent number 265,272.

In 1928, Hungarian aviation engineer Oszkár Asbóth constructed a helicopter prototype that took off and landed at least 182 times, with a maximum single flight duration of 53 minutes.^[24][25]

In 1930, the Italian engineer Corradino D'Ascanio built his D'AT3, a coaxial helicopter. His relatively large machine had two, two-bladed, counter-rotating rotors. Control was achieved by using auxiliary wings or servo-tabs on the trailing edges of the blades,^[26] a concept that was later adopted by other helicopter designers, including Bleeker and Kaman. Three small propellers mounted to the airframe were used for additional pitch, roll, and yaw control. The D'AT3 held modest FAI speed and altitude records for the time, including altitude (18 m or 59 ft), duration (8 minutes 45 seconds) and distance flown (1,078 m or 3,540 ft).^[26]

In the Soviet Union, Boris N. Yuriev and Alexei M. Cheremukhin, two aeronautical engineers working at the Tsentralniy Aerogidrodinamicheskiy Institut (TsAGI, Russian: Центра́льный аэрогидродинами́ческий институ́т (ЦАГИ), English: Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute), constructed and flew the TsAGI 1-EA single rotor helicopter, which used an open tubing framework, a four blade main rotor, and twin sets of 1.8-meter (6-foot) diameter anti-torque rotors; one set of two at the nose and one set of two at the tail. Powered by two M-2 powerplants, up-rated copies of the Gnome Monosoupape rotary radial engine of World War I, the TsAGI 1-EA made several successful low altitude flights. By 14 August 1932, Cheremukhin managed to get the 1-EA up to an unofficial altitude of 605 meters (1,985 ft), shattering d'Ascanio's earlier achievement. As the Soviet Union was not yet a member of the FAI, however, Cheremukhin's record remained unrecognized.^[27][28]

Nicolas Florine, a Russian engineer, built the first twin tandem rotor machine to perform a free flight. It flew in Sint-Genesius-Rode, at the Laboratoire Aérotechnique de Belgique (now von Karman Institute) in April 1933, and attained an altitude of six meters (20 ft) and an endurance of eight minutes. Florine chose a co-rotating configuration because the gyroscopic stability of the rotors would not cancel. Therefore the rotors had to be tilted slightly in opposite directions to counter torque. Using hingeless rotors and co-rotation also minimised the stress on the hull. At the time, it was one of the most stable helicopter in existence.^[29][30]

The Bréguet-Dorand Gyroplane Laboratoire was built in 1933. It was a coaxial helicopter, contra-rotating. After many ground tests and an accident, it first took flight on 26 June 1935. Within a short time, the aircraft was setting records with pilot Maurice Claisse at the controls. On 14 December 1935, he set a record for closed-circuit flight with a 500-meter (1,600 ft) diameter. The next year, on 26 September 1936, Claisse set a height record of 158 meters (520 ft). And, finally, on 24 November 1936, he set a flight duration record of one hour, two minutes and 5 seconds over a 44 kilometer (27 mi) closed circuit at 44.7 kilometers per hour (27.8 mph). The aircraft was destroyed in 1943 by an Allied airstrike at Villacoublay airport.

Birth of an industry[link]

Aviation pioneers Igor Sikorsky (left) and Orville Wright, pose in front of the prototype Sikorsky XR-4, 1942

Despite the success of the Gyroplane Laboratoire, the German Focke-Wulf Fw 61, first flown in 1936, would eclipse its accomplishments. The Fw 61 broke all of the helicopter world records in 1937, demonstrating a flight envelope that had only previously been achieved by the autogyro. Nazi Germany would use helicopters in small numbers during World War II for observation, transport, and medical evacuation. The Flettner Fl 282 Kolibri synchropter was used in the Mediterranean, while the Focke Achgelis Fa 223 Drache was used in Europe.^{[citation needed]} Extensive bombing by the Allied forces prevented Germany from producing any helicopters in large quantities during the war.

In the United States, Igor Sikorsky and W. Lawrence LePage were competing to produce the United States military's first helicopter. Prior to the war, LePage had received the patent rights to develop helicopters patterned after the Fw 61, and built the XR-1.^[31] Meanwhile, Sikorsky had settled on a simpler, single rotor design, the VS-300, which turned out to be the first practical single lifting-rotor helicopter design and the best-flying one since the Soviet TsAGI 1-EA flown nearly a decade before.^{[citation needed]} After experimenting with configurations to counteract the torque produced by the single main rotor, he settled on a single, smaller rotor mounted on the tailboom.

Developed from the VS-300, Sikorsky's R-4 became the first large-scale mass produced helicopter with a production order for 100 aircraft. The R-4 was the only Allied helicopter to see service in World War II, primarily being used for rescue in Burma, Alaska, and other areas with harsh terrain. Total production would reach 131 helicopters before the R-4 was replaced by other Sikorsky helicopters such as the R-5 and the R-6. In all, Sikorsky would produce over 400 helicopters before the end of World War II.^[32]

As LePage and Sikorsky were building their helicopters for the military, Bell Aircraft hired Arthur Young to help build a helicopter using Young's two-blade teetering rotor design which used a weighted stabilizing bar placed at a 90° angle to the rotor blades. The subsequent Model 30 helicopter showed the design's simplicity and ease of use. The Model 30 was developed into the Bell 47, which became the first helicopter certificated for civilian use in the United States. Produced in several countries, the Bell 47 would stand as the most popular helicopter model for nearly 30 years.

Turbine age[link]

In 1951, at the urging of his contacts at the Department of the Navy, Charles Kaman modified his K-225 synchropter with a new kind of engine, the turboshaft engine. This adaptation of the turbine engine provided a large amount of power to the helicopter with a lower weight penalty than piston engines, with their heavy engine blocks and auxiliary components. On 11 December 1951, the Kaman K-225 became the first turbine-powered helicopter in the world. Two years later, on 26 March 1954, a modified Navy HTK-1, another Kaman helicopter, became the first twin-turbine helicopter to fly.^[33] However, it was the Sud Aviation Alouette II that would become the first helicopter to be produced with a turbine-engine.^[34]

Reliable helicopters capable of stable hover flight were developed decades after fixed-wing aircraft. This is largely due to higher engine power density requirements than fixed-wing aircraft. Improvements in fuels and engines during the first half of the 20th century were a critical factor in helicopter development. The availability of lightweight turboshaft engines in the second half of the 20th century led to the development of larger, faster, and higher-performance helicopters. While smaller and less expensive helicopters still use piston engines, turboshaft engines are the preferred powerplant for helicopters today.

Uses[link]

Due to the operating characteristics of the helicopter—its ability to takeoff and land vertically, and to hover for extended periods of time, as well as the aircraft's handling properties under low airspeed conditions—it has been chosen to conduct tasks that were previously not possible with other aircraft, or were time- or work-intensive to accomplish on the ground. Today, helicopter uses include transportation, construction, firefighting, search and rescue, tourism, and military uses.

A helicopter used to carry loads connected to long cables or slings is called an aerial crane. Aerial cranes are used to place heavy equipment, like radio transmission towers and large air conditioning units, on the tops of tall buildings, or when an item must be raised up in a remote area, such as a radio tower raised on the top of a hill or mountain. Helicopters are used as aerial cranes in the logging industry to lift trees out of terrain where vehicles cannot travel and where environmental concerns prohibit the building of roads.^[35] These operations are referred to as longline because of the long, single sling line used to carry the load.^[36]

Helitack is the use of helicopters to combat wildland fires.^[37] The helicopters are used for aerial firefighting (or water bombing) and may be fitted with tanks or carry helibuckets. Helibuckets, such as the Bambi bucket, are usually filled by submerging the bucket into lakes, rivers, reservoirs, or portable tanks. Tanks fitted onto helicopters are filled from a hose while the helicopter is on the ground or water is siphoned from lakes or reservoirs through a hanging snorkel as the helicopter hovers over the water source. Helitack helicopters are also used to deliver firefighters, who rappel down to inaccessible areas, and to resupply firefighters. Common firefighting helicopters include variants of the Bell 205 and the Erickson S-64 Aircrane helitanker.

Helicopters are used as air ambulances for emergency medical assistance in situations when an ambulance cannot easily or quickly reach the scene, or cannot transport the patient to a medical facility in time. Helicopters are also used when a patient needs to be transported between medical facilities and air transportation is the most practical method for the safety of the patient. Air ambulance helicopters are equipped to provide medical treatment to a patient while in flight. The use of helicopters as air ambulances is often referred to as MEDEVAC, and patients are referred to as being "airlifted", or "medevaced".

Police departments and other law enforcement agencies use helicopters to pursue suspects. Since helicopters can achieve a unique aerial view, they are often used in conjunction with police on the ground to report on suspects' locations and movements. They are often mounted with lighting and heat-sensing equipment for night pursuits.

Military forces use attack helicopters to conduct aerial attacks on ground targets. Such helicopters are mounted with missile launchers and miniguns. Transport helicopters are used to ferry troops and supplies where the lack of an airstrip would make transport via fixed-wing aircraft impossible. The use of transport helicopters to deliver troops as an attack force on an objective is referred to as Air Assault. Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) helicopter systems of varying sizes are being developed by companies for military reconnaissance and surveillance duties. Naval forces also use helicopters equipped with dipping sonar for anti-submarine warfare, since they can operate from small ships.

Oil companies charter helicopters to move workers and parts quickly to remote drilling sites located out to sea or in remote locations. The speed over boats makes the high operating cost of helicopters cost effective to ensure that oil platforms continue to flow. Various companies specialize in this type of operation.

Other uses of helicopters include, but are not limited to:

• Aerial photography
• Motion picture photography
• Electronic news gathering
• Reflection seismology
• Search and Rescue
• Tourism or recreation
• Transport

Design features[link]

Basic anatomy of a Helicopter

Rotor system[link]

The rotor system, or more simply rotor, is the rotating part of a helicopter which generates lift. A rotor system may be mounted horizontally as main rotors are, providing lift vertically, or it may be mounted vertically, such as a tail rotor, to provide lift horizontally as thrust to counteract torque effect. The rotor consists of a mast, hub and rotor blades.

A teetering rotor system

The mast is a cylindrical metal shaft which extends upwards from and is driven by the transmission. At the top of the mast is the attachment point for the rotor blades called the hub. The rotor blades are then attached to the hub by a number of different methods. Main rotor systems are classified according to how the main rotor blades are attached and move relative to the main rotor hub. There are three basic classifications: hingeless, fully articulated, and teetering, although some modern rotor systems use an engineered combination of these types.

Anti-torque features[link]

MD Helicopters 520N NOTAR

Most helicopters have a single main rotor, but torque created as the engine turns the rotor against its air drag causes the body of the helicopter to turn in the opposite direction to the rotor. To eliminate this effect, some sort of anti-torque control must be used.

The design that Igor Sikorsky settled on for his VS-300 was a smaller tail rotor. The tail rotor pushes or pulls against the tail to counter the torque effect, and has become the most common configuration for helicopter design.

Some helicopters use alternative anti-torque controls instead of the tail rotor, such as the ducted fan (called Fenestron or FANTAIL), and NOTAR. NOTAR provides anti-torque similar to the way a wing develops lift, through the use of a Coandă effect on the tailboom.^[38]

Boeing CH-47 Chinook is the most common dual rotor helicopter deployed today

The use of two or more horizontal rotors turning in opposite directions is another configuration used to counteract the effects of torque on the aircraft without relying on an anti-torque tail rotor. This allows the power normally required to drive the tail rotor to be applied to the main rotors, increasing the aircraft's lifting capacity. Primarily, there are three common configurations that use the counter-rotating effect to benefit the rotorcraft. Tandem rotors are two rotors with one mounted behind the other. Coaxial rotors are two rotors that are mounted one above the other with the same axis. Intermeshing rotors are two rotors that are mounted close to each other at a sufficient angle to allow the rotors to intermesh over the top of the aircraft. Transverse rotors is another configuration found on tiltrotors and some earlier helicopters, where the pair of rotors are mounted at each end of the wings or outrigger structures. Quadrocopters see use mainly as model aircraft. Tip jet designs permit the rotor to push itself through the air, and avoid generating torque.^[39]

Engines[link]

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The number, size and type of engine(s) used on a helicopter determines the size, function and capability of that helicopter design. The earliest helicopter engines were simple mechanical devices, such as rubber bands or spindles, which relegated the size of helicopters to toys and small models. For a half century before the first airplane flight, steam engines were used to forward the development of the understanding of helicopter aerodynamics, but the limited power did not allow for manned flight. The introduction of the internal combustion engine at the end of the 19th century became the watershed for helicopter development as engines began to be developed and produced that were powerful enough to allow for helicopters able to lift humans.

Early helicopter designs utilized custom-built engines or rotary engines designed for airplanes, but these were soon replaced by more powerful automobile engines and radial engines. The single, most-limiting factor of helicopter development during the first half of the 20th century was that the amount of power produced by an engine was not able to overcome the engine's weight in vertical flight. This was overcome in early successful helicopters by using the smallest engines available. When the compact, flat engine was developed, the helicopter industry found a lighter-weight powerplant easily adapted to small helicopters, although radial engines continued to be used for larger helicopters.

Turbine engines revolutionized the aviation industry, and the turboshaft engine finally gave helicopters an engine with a large amount of power and a low weight penalty. Turboshafts are also more reliable than piston engines, especially when producing the sustained high levels of power required by a helicopter. The turboshaft engine was able to be scaled to the size of the helicopter being designed, so that all but the lightest of helicopter models are powered by turbine engines today.

Special jet engines developed to drive the rotor from the rotor tips are referred to as tip jets. Tip jets powered by a remote compressor are referred to as cold tip jets, while those powered by combustion exhaust are referred to as hot tip jets. An example of a cold jet helicopter is the Sud-Ouest Djinn, and an example of the hot tip jet helicopter is the YH-32 Hornet.

Some radio-controlled helicopters and smaller, helicopter-type unmanned aerial vehicles, use electric motors. Radio-controlled helicopters may also have piston engines that use fuels other than gasoline, such as Nitromethane. Some turbine engines commonly used in helicopters can also use biodiesel instead of jet fuel.^[40][41]

Flight controls[link]

Cockpit of an Alouette III

A helicopter has four flight control inputs. These are the cyclic, the collective, the anti-torque pedals, and the throttle. The cyclic control is usually located between the pilot's legs and is commonly called the cyclic stick or just cyclic. On most helicopters, the cyclic is similar to a joystick. However, the Robinson R22 and Robinson R44 have a unique teetering bar cyclic control system and a few helicopters have a cyclic control that descends into the cockpit from overhead.

The control is called the cyclic because it changes the pitch of the rotor blades cyclically. The result is to tilt the rotor disk in a particular direction, resulting in the helicopter moving in that direction. If the pilot pushes the cyclic forward, the rotor disk tilts forward, and the rotor produces a thrust in the forward direction. If the pilot pushes the cyclic to the side, the rotor disk tilts to that side and produces thrust in that direction, causing the helicopter to hover sideways.

The collective pitch control or collective is located on the left side of the pilot's seat with a settable friction control to prevent inadvertent movement. The collective changes the pitch angle of all the main rotor blades collectively (i.e. all at the same time) and independently of their position. Therefore, if a collective input is made, all the blades change equally, and the result is the helicopter increasing or decreasing in altitude.

The anti-torque pedals are located in the same position as the rudder pedals in a fixed-wing aircraft, and serve a similar purpose, namely to control the direction in which the nose of the aircraft is pointed. Application of the pedal in a given direction changes the pitch of the tail rotor blades, increasing or reducing the thrust produced by the tail rotor and causing the nose to yaw in the direction of the applied pedal. The pedals mechanically change the pitch of the tail rotor altering the amount of thrust produced.

Helicopter rotors are designed to operate in a narrow range of RPM.^{[42][43][44][45][46]} The throttle controls the power produced by the engine, which is connected to the rotor by a fixed ratio transmission. The purpose of the throttle is to maintain enough engine power to keep the rotor RPM within allowable limits so that the rotor produces enough lift for flight. In single-engine helicopters, the throttle control is a motorcycle-style twist grip mounted on the collective control, while dual-engine helicopters have a power lever for each engine.

A Swashplate transmits the pilot commands to the main rotor blades for articulated rotors.

Flight[link]

There are three basic flight conditions for a helicopter: hover, forward flight and the transition between the two.

Helicopter hovering over boat in rescue exercise

Hover

Hovering is the most challenging part of flying a helicopter. This is because a helicopter generates its own gusty air while in a hover, which acts against the fuselage and flight control surfaces. The end result is constant control inputs and corrections by the pilot to keep the helicopter where it is required to be. Despite the complexity of the task, the control inputs in a hover are simple. The cyclic is used to eliminate drift in the horizontal plane, that is to control forward and back, right and left. The collective is used to maintain altitude. The pedals are used to control nose direction or heading. It is the interaction of these controls that makes hovering so difficult, since an adjustment in any one control requires an adjustment of the other two, creating a cycle of constant correction.

Transition from hover to forward flight

As a helicopter moves from hover to forward flight it enters a state called Translational lift which provides extra lift without increasing power. This state, most typically, occurs when the airspeed reaches approximately 16–24 knots, and may be necessary for a helicopter to obtain flight.

Forward flight

In forward flight a helicopter's flight controls behave more like those of a fixed-wing aircraft. Displacing the cyclic forward will cause the nose to pitch down, with a resultant increase in airspeed and loss of altitude. Aft cyclic will cause the nose to pitch up, slowing the helicopter and causing it to climb. Increasing collective (power) while maintaining a constant airspeed will induce a climb while decreasing collective will cause a descent. Coordinating these two inputs, down collective plus aft cyclic or up collective plus forward cyclic, will result in airspeed changes while maintaining a constant altitude. The pedals serve the same function in both a helicopter and a fixed-wing aircraft, to maintain balanced flight. This is done by applying a pedal input in whichever direction is necessary to center the ball in the turn and bank indicator.

Safety[link]

Limitations[link]

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HAL Dhruv performing aerobatics during the Royal International Air Tattoo in 2008.

Royal Australian Navy Squirrel helicopters during a display at the 2008 Melbourne Grand Prix

The main limitation of the helicopter is its low speed. There are several reasons a helicopter cannot fly as fast as a fixed wing aircraft. When the helicopter is hovering, the outer tips of the rotor travel at a speed determined by the length of the blade and the RPM. In a moving helicopter, however, the speed of the blades relative to the air depends on the speed of the helicopter as well as on their rotational velocity. The airspeed of the advancing rotor blade is much higher than that of the helicopter itself. It is possible for this blade to exceed the speed of sound, and thus produce vastly increased drag and vibration. See Wave drag.

Because the advancing blade has higher airspeed than the retreating blade and generates a dissymmetry of lift, rotor blades are designed to "flap" – lift and twist in such a way that the advancing blade flaps up and develops a smaller angle of attack. Conversely, the retreating blade flaps down, develops a higher angle of attack, and generates more lift. At high speeds, the force on the rotors is such that they "flap" excessively and the retreating blade can reach too high an angle and stall. For this reason, the maximum safe forward airspeed of a helicopter is given a design rating called V_NE, Velocity, Never Exceed.^[47] In addition it is possible for the helicopter to fly at an airspeed where an excessive amount of the retreating blade stalls which results in high vibration, pitch -up, and roll into the retreating blade.

During the closing years of the 20th century designers began working on helicopter noise reduction. Urban communities have often expressed great dislike of noisy aircraft, and police and passenger helicopters can be unpopular. The redesigns followed the closure of some city heliports and government action to constrain flight paths in national parks and other places of natural beauty.

Helicopters also vibrate; an unadjusted helicopter can easily vibrate so much that it will shake itself apart. To reduce vibration, all helicopters have rotor adjustments for height and weight. Blade height is adjusted by changing the pitch of the blade. Weight is adjusted by adding or removing weights on the rotor head and/or at the blade end caps. Most also have vibration dampers for height and pitch. Some also use mechanical feedback systems to sense and counter vibration. Usually the feedback system uses a mass as a "stable reference" and a linkage from the mass operates a flap to adjust the rotor's angle of attack to counter the vibration. Adjustment is difficult in part because measurement of the vibration is hard, usually requiring sophisticated accelerometers mounted throughout the airframe and gearboxes. The most common blade vibration adjustment measurement system is to use a stroboscopic flash lamp, and observe painted markings or coloured reflectors on the underside of the rotor blades. The traditional low-tech system is to mount coloured chalk on the rotor tips, and see how they mark a linen sheet. Gearbox vibration most often requires a gearbox overhaul or replacement. Gearbox or drive train vibrations can be extremely harmful to a pilot. The most severe being pain, numbness, loss of tactile discrimination and dexterity.

Hazards[link]

As with any moving vehicle, unsafe operation could result in loss of control, structural damage, or loss of life. The following is a list of some of the potential hazards for helicopters:

• Settling with power, also known as a vortex ring state, is when the aircraft is unable to arrest its descent due to the rotor's downwash interfering with the aerodynamics of the rotor.
• Retreating blade stall is experienced during high speed flight and is the most common limiting factor of a helicopter's forward speed.
• Ground resonance affects helicopters with fully articulated rotor systems having a natural lead-lag frequency less than the blade rotation frequency.
• Low-G condition affects helicopters with two-bladed main rotors, particularly lightweight helicopters.
• Dynamic rollover in which the helicopter pivots around one of the skids and 'pulls' itself onto its side.
• Powertrain failures, especially those that occur within the shaded area of the height-velocity diagram.
• Tail rotor failures which occur from either a mechanical malfunction of the tail rotor control system or a loss of tail rotor thrust authority, called Loss of Tail-rotor Effectiveness (LTE).
• Brownout in dusty conditions or whiteout in snowy conditions.
• Low Rotor RPM, or rotor droop, in which the engine cannot drive the blades at sufficient RPM to maintain flight.
• Rotor Overspeed, which can over-stress the rotor hub pitch bearings (Brinelling) and, if severe enough, cause blade separation from the aircraft.
• Wire and tree strikes due to low altitude operations and take-offs and landings in remote locations.^[48]
• Controlled flight into terrain in which the aircraft is flown into the ground unintentionally due to lack of situational awareness.

Deadliest crashes[link]

1. 2002: a Mil Mi-26 was shot down over Chechnya; 127 killed.
2. 1997: two Israeli Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallions collided over Israel; 73 killed.
3. December 14, 1992: despite being heavily escorted, a Russian Army Mil Mi-8 was shot down by Georgian forces in Abkhazia using SA-14 MANPADs, with the loss of three crew members and 58 passengers composed of mainly Russian refugees.^[49]
4. October 4, 1993: Russian forces shot down a Georgian Mi-8 transporting 60 refugees from eastern Abkhazia; all on board were killed.^[49]
5. May 10, 1977: an Israeli CH-53 crashed near Yitav in the Jordan Valley; 54 killed.
6. September 11, 1982: a U.S. Army Boeing CH-47 Chinook crashed at an air show in Mannheim, Germany; 46 killed.^[50][51]
7. 1986: a Boeing 234LR Chinook operated by British International Helicopters crashed in the Shetland Islands; 45 killed.
8. 1992 Azerbaijani Mil Mi-8 shootdown: 44 killed.
9. 2009 Pakistan Army Mil Mi-17 crash: 41 killed.
10. 2011: a CH-47 Chinook was shot down in Afghanistan: 38 killed.^[52]
11. January 26, 2005: An USMC Sikorsky CH-53E Super Stallion crashed near Ar Rutbah, Iraq killing all 31 service members on board.^[53]

World records[link]

See also[link]

Aviation portal

References[link]

Notes

Footnotes

Bibliography

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Helicopters

Organizations

• AHS International – The Vertical Flight Technical Society
• Helicopter Association International
• Helicopter Links – companies, organizations, museums, trade/air shows

Articles

• "Planes That Go Straight Up." 1935 article about early development and research into helicopters
• "Flights — of the Imagination." 1918 article on helicopter design concepts.
• "Twin Windmill Blades Fly Wingless Ship" Popular Mechanics, April 1936
• "Engine-off Landings – First Thorough Examination of an Aspect of Helicopter Flight Hitherto Somewhat Neglected" 1947 article on physics of unpowered landing
• The Helicopter 1953 video about uses and flight physics of helicopters. Prelinger Archives at the Internet Archive.

Information

• Helicopter at HowStuffWorks
• Helicopter history site
• Helicopter photo gallery
• Rotary Action – guide to helicopters in movies and TV
• US patent #970616 – Edison's helicopter patent
• US patent #1848389 – Sikorsky's helicopter patent

Guy Martin
Martin at the 2010 Isle of Man TT.
Nationality	English
Born	(1981-11-04) 4 November 1981 (age 30) Kirmington, North Lincolnshire, England
Motorcycle racing career statistics Isle of Man TT career TTs contested 8 (2004–present) TT wins 0 Podiums 13

Guy Martin (born 4 November 1981 in Kirmington, North Lincolnshire, England) is a British motorcycle racer and lorry mechanic. He has primarily competed in road racing events.

Early career[link]

Martin decided to follow his father Ian's footsteps by racing motorcycles and moved to Ireland to join Team Racing.

After a highly successful debut year on the roads, that saw him win the Cock o' the North and International Gold Cup races at Oliver's Mount, Scarborough as well as the Irish 750cc Support Championship, he moved to the Uel Duncan Racing team for 2004. It was another successful year as he retained the Gold Cup whilst he also made his debut at the International road races with the highlight being 7th in the Senior TT. His best lap was 122.10 mph which, at the time, was the fastest ever lap set by a newcomer and almost 6 mph quicker than the previous best.

Staying with the team for 2005, Martin made further strides forward and at the TT he was the only rider to finish all five of his races inside the top six. A debut podium in the Senior was backed up with a fourth, two fifths and a sixth whilst he improved his lap speeds to in excess of 126 mph. He also took the Scarborough Gold Cup for the third successive year.

AIM Yamaha[link]

In 2006 Martin raced for Alistair Flanagan's AIM Yamaha race team. His first race for the team was the 2005 Macau GP. During the 2006 season Martin was allowed to race on the English circuits again, taking part in some British Supersport championship races. He also participated in the 3 Scarborough racing events at Oliver's Mount – the Ian Watson Spring National, the Cock o' the North and the Gold Cup meeting in which he won the prestigious Gold Cup equaling Geoff Dukes record of 4 in a row.^{[citation needed]} The International road race meetings had mixed results the North West 200 never went particularly well, The Isle of Man TT looked promising but problems soon led to it being another disappointment though at the final international of the year, the Ulster Grand Prix, Martin took 4 race wins and a 2nd making him the man of the meeting.

Hydrex Honda[link]

Hydrex Honda were the team that secured Martin's signature for the 2007 season. Shaun Muir team owner said he was "Delighted to have such a great prospect and a true character on board." and had "High hopes for the coming season". In the early season he took part in British Superbike and Supersport rounds to prepare for the road racing season. The first major international of the year was the North West 200 in which Martin finished with an 8th, a 4th, two 3rds and a 2nd. In the CP Hire Superstock race after a bad start Martin finished 3rd. The Isle of Man TT was the next major race on the calendar and Martin got a 3rd, two 2nds and a DNF after running out of fuel with less than 3 miles to go until his first pit stop. In the Senior race he just missed out on becoming only the second rider, at the time, to have lapped at more than 130 mph, his best lap falling short at 129.816 mph. Later video footage showed him run wide on the entry to Windy Corner and it was this mistake that led him to miss out on the magical 130 mph lap.

Martin continued to race on the English scene and then he regained his Cock o' the North title at the Scarborough circuit before going to Ireland for the Kells Road Races in which he took one race win. This was preparation for the Ulster Grand Prix which was delayed for two hours due to bad weather and in the first race Martin brought home a 5th position, in race 2 a win, and in the superbike race, which was shortened due to weather, a 2nd. After this red flag the days racing was cancelled due to bad weather and that meant for the 2nd year in a row Martin was the man of the meeting. The Scarborough Gold Cup meeting ended with him winning all the races on the final day including the Gold Cup.

2008[link]

On Tuesday 4 December Martin announced that he would be continuing with Hydrex Honda for the 2008 season. The team introduced a new sponsor, Bike Animal, a motorcycle news website. As well as contesting a full season in the British Superbike Championship, Guy again competed in the three International road races but he was denied his first TT win when he broke down whilst comfortably leading the opening Superbike race. He was eleven seconds in the lead when an electrical problem forced him out on the fourth lap. He did claim a podium, third, in the Superstock race but suffered further retirements in the Senior and second Supersport races. In September 2008 it was back to Olivers Mount for the International Gold Cup. Guy won the feature event and now has won 6 Gold Cups in a row, a new record, and he also has the lap record for the 1000cc bikes at Scarborough with a time of 1:45.3.

2009[link]

For 2009 Guy continued with the Hydrex Honda team for a third successive year contesting all three Internationals as well as contesting selected British Championship and Irish National races. In a move from previous seasons, Guy moved away from the main Hydrex team, preferring instead to run a smaller, close knit team and after a steady North West 200 meeting, confidence was high going into the TT, his number one event of the year, as he sought to win a race at the 37.73 mile circuit on the Isle of Man.

2009 was expected to be the year he broke the seal, but after claiming two 2nds and a 3rd on the Superstock, Superbike and Supersport bikes early in the week Martin's engine gave up after coming onto the pit lane in the 2nd 600 race leaving him with his first DNF of the week and after a radio TT commentator approached he was left with an apology to make to TT fans for saying "If I get my hands on the fucker who built that engine he will feel the back of my hand!" More grief was still to come when putting the bike into gear at the end of his 2nd pit stop during the Senior race his chain snapped, meaning he ended up with another DNF.

He regrouped to claim the Southern 100 Championship on the Billown road course in July, after finishing second on no less than three occasions – 2005, 2006 and 2007 – before heading to the third International race of the season, the Ulster Grand Prix.

After taking third in Thursday's Dundrod 150 Superbike race, Guy repeated the result in the feature UGP Superbike race, held over 8 laps, but he ensured he would not be without an International win in 2009 when he won a thrilling second Superbike race, just over a tenth of a second in front of fellow Lincolnshire rider Gary Johnson. He also placed 4th and 5th in the equally close Superstock and Supersport races.

At the 2009 Gold Cup at Oliver's Mount, Guy won the prestigious Steve Henshaw Gold Cup feature race, becoming the first rider to win 7 consecutive meetings.

2009 TT Results[link]

2010 Wilson Craig Honda[link]

The end of 2009 saw Martin leave Hydrex for Wilson Craig Honda a team which hailed from Northern Ireland. Martin failed to take a podium at the North West 200, with his best result being fourth in the second Superbike race. He went to the Isle of Man TT, looking to achieve his first TT victory. However, the meeting was dominated by Ian Hutchinson, who took a record-breaking five victories in all the solo races.^[2] In the final race, the Senior TT, Martin was a challenger to stop Hutchinson achieving the clean sweep, but was involved in an incident on the third lap of the race at Ballagarey, having led the race just before the first pit stop.^[3] Martin was airlifted to Noble's Hospital in Douglas with chest injuries. He was later diagnosed as suffering bruising to both lungs and minor fractures to his upper spine.^[3] His performance at the meeting was criticised by Simon Buckmaster, whose Performance Technical Racing company built the bikes that Martin was running.^[4] Martin received considerable public support over Buckmaster's comments, leading Buckmaster to reiterate them later.^[5]

2010 TT Results[link]

Relentless by TAS Suzuki[link]

November 2010 brought news Guy Martin had been signed by Relentless Suzuki the team run by the Neill family based in Northern Ireland. Previously the team has had over 18 TT wins with riders including Cameron Donald, David Jefferies, Bruce Anstey, Adrian Archibald and Jim Moodie.

Philip Neill had this to say about his new signing “It’s been a difficult decision changing our line-up as we pride ourselves on loyalty. In saying that, Guy is a rider I’ve wanted to work with for a couple of seasons now, and my loyalty to other riders probably held that decision back a little. He came to us full of enthusiasm and wants to do things our way, which was a good starting point. And on top of that, I'm a sucker for a challenge and I like Guy's free spirit attitude. He's created a Guy Martin brand without even trying and that’s also pretty special.

"Obviously we know he’s a very talented rider and has been extremely unlucky not to have won races at both the North West 200 and the TT. So our motivation is to complete that task, while making sure Guy also fulfils his commercial responsibility representing a manufacturer backed team. Having spoken to him at length before we agreed a deal, I know he won't let Suzuki or our sponsors down."

Guy is said to have found a good direction after joining his team-mates during testing at Cartagena.^{[citation needed]}

The popular road racer will pilot the team's Suzuki GSX-R1000 in selected events this season, most notably the Isle of Man TT where he will be striving for a first win.

Travelling to Spain with Josh Brookes and Alastair Seeley – who will compete in the British Superbike and British Supersport Championships respectively – Martin focused on sorting a good set up on the Superstock and Superbike machines.

"It's been steady away boy ... steady away,” he said. “We are making good headway and are not bothered with the stopwatch. We've had three days working very hard on the Superbike and we gave the 'stock bike a run out. I've found some good direction. It's all looking grand."

Guy had a relatively successful TT but still the all important top step was out of reach again. The closest he got was on Fridays senior race where he battled with John McGuinness until the bitter end for the lead. Eventually taking second place, Guy commented he did all he could and he was beaten by the better man.

2011 Ulster Gp[link]

Superbike Race 2 Win

2011 TT Results[link]

[edit] The Boat that Guy Built (BBC TV)

In March 2011 BBC One broadcast the educational documentary series "The Boat that Guy Built." In the show Martin along with his childhood pal "Mavis" (Mark Davis) renovate a narrow boat, Reckless, travelling on the canal network using the inventions of the Industrial Revolution. The programme involves reconstructions of early industrial processes such as smelting iron. The programme is narrated by Liza Tarbuck.^[8]

[edit] TT3D Closer to the Edge

TT3D: Closer to the Edge is a documentary film about the Isle of Man TT races. The film examines what motivates the riders who race the TT and risk everything to become "King of the Mountain". Filmed in 3D, the film is a story about freedom of choice and the strength of human spirit. The film follows the leading riders in the 2010 race meeting, in particular Guy Martin and Ian Hutchinson.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Guy Martin

• Guy Martin – Official Site
• Guy Martin at www.iomtt.com

Lil Scrappy
Lil Scrappy, September 15, 2007.
Background information
Birth name	Darryl Richardson
Born	January 19, 1984 (age 28)
Origin	Atlanta, Georgia
Genres	Hip Hop, Funk rap, Crunk, Contemporary R&B
Occupations	Rapper
Years active	2003–present
Labels	G's Up, S-Line, Bonzi, G-Unit South, Fontana, Universal, BME Recordings, Def Jam
Associated acts	Crime Mob, Lil Flip, Trillville, Ludacris, Lil Jon, E-40
Website	lilscrappy.com

Darryl Kevin Richardson II (born January 19, 1984),^[1] better known by his stage name Lil Scrappy, is an American rapper.

Richards was discovered by producer and performer Lil Jon while performing at a bar, when a fight broke out during his set in his hometown of Atlanta, Georgia. Along with labelmates Trillville, Lil Scrappy was one of the first signings to Lil Jon's BME Recordings.

Lil Scrappy built a strong reputation and eager following throughout the Southeastern United States through mixtapes and his 2003 song "Head Bussa", which was used as the theme for the 2004 Atlanta Braves.

Career[link]

[edit] 2006-2008: Bred 2 Die Born 2 Live

Lil Scrappy released his debut album Bred 2 Die Born 2 Live on December 5, 2006 on BME Recordings/Reprise Records/G-Unit Records and G-Unit South now Cashville Records. The album features appearances by Yung Joc, Three 6 Mafia, Lil Jon, Young Buck, 50 Cent, Olivia, Young Dro, and Bohagon. It was produced by Lil Jon and 50 Cent. The first single Money in the Bank features Young Buck and became Lil Scrappy's second Top 30 single. Money in the Bank peaked at number 28 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart trajectory, becoming his biggest solo hit and most commercially successful single to date in the U.S. as it surpassed the peak position of "No Problem" by one position. The second single from the album is called Gangsta Gangsta and features Lil Jon. "Oh Yeah (Work)" is the third single from Bred 2 Die Born 2 Live and features E-40 and Sean P (formerly Sean Paul) of YoungbloodZ He also has one son named Rashaud Archie.

J-Bo, Lil Jon, & Too Short made cameo appearances in the video, which premiered January 25, 2007 on BET's 106 & Park as a New Joint. The song also received significant air play on various urban stations.

In late 2008 Lil Scrappy announced that his second studio album would not be released under G-Unit Records or other former label BME Records. Lil Scrappy's first independent album, Prince of the South, was released on May 13, 2008 through Real Talk Entertainment.^[2]

[edit] 2009-present: The Grustle

In early 2009 Lil Scrappy's announced the title of for his second studio album, Tha Grustle & that he had signed with Ludacris label DTP & it would be distributed through Def Jam.^[3] Also in 2009 Lil Scrappy appeared in the motion picuture Just Another Day the tale of the brutal realities of rap music, Scrappy plays a character named Jay. Lil Scrappy's second independent album, Prince of the South 2, was released on October 19, 2010 through Real Talk Entertainment just like his first independent album. On ^[4] On September 8, 2009 Lil Scrappy released the first single from the album entitled "Addicted To Money" but it failed to reach the Billboard charts so it was dubbed as a promo single. Then On September 28, 2010 Lil Scrappy released the first single from the album "Bad (That's Her)" which featured Stuey Rock but it also failed to reach the billboard charts so it was dubbed as promo single.

On November 2, 2011 after the album never saw an official release, Lil Scrappy announced that the album would be released in early 2012. Lil Scrappy also announced that he and DTP had parted ways and that his G's Up imprint has partnered with S-Line, a company owned by Lil Scappy's manager Kevin Clark. G's Up/S-Line has embarked in a joint venture with Bonzi Records, a label owned by platinum producer J. Wells & will be distributed by Fontana/Universal.^[5] The official first single from the album will be "Helicopter" that features 2 Chainz & Twista.^[6] The music video premiered on MTV Jams, and was directed by Edgar Esteves.

Discography[link]

Studio albums

• Bred 2 Die Born 2 Live (2006)
• The Grustle (2012)

Independent albums

• Prince of the South (2008)
• Prince of the South 2 (2010)

Collaboration albums

• The King of Crunk & BME Recordings Present: Trillville & Lil Scrappy (with Trillville) (2004)
• Silence & Secrecy: Black Rag Gang (with G'$ Up Click) (2009)
• Horrible: The Remixes 12" (Skullfukkaz! with Lil Scrappy & Lil Squeezy) (2011)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lil Scrappy

• Official Website
• Official Lil Scrappy Profile at justRHYMES.com
• Lil Scrappy on Myspace
• Lil Scrappy at Twitter
• Lil Scrappy at MTV
• Lil Scrappy at Allmusic
• Lil Scrappy at the Internet Movie Database
• Lil Scrappy's's channel on YouTube

Sacha Baron Cohen
Baron Cohen at the New York City premiere of Hugo on 21 November 2011
Born	Sacha Noam Baron Cohen (1971-10-13) 13 October 1971 (age 40) Hammersmith, London, England
Alma mater	Cambridge University
Occupation	Stand-up comedian, writer, actor, voice actor
Years active	1995–present
Notable work(s)	Ali G Borat Brüno Admiral General Aladeen
Spouse	Isla Fisher (m. 2010) «start: (2010-03-15)»"Marriage: Isla Fisher to Sacha Baron Cohen" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Sacha_Baron_Cohen)[1]
Children	2 daughters

Sacha Noam Baron Cohen^[2] (born 13 October 1971) is an English stand-up comedian, writer, actor, and voice actor. A graduate of Cambridge University,^[3] Baron Cohen is most widely known for writing and playing four unorthodox fictional characters: Ali G, Borat, Brüno, and Admiral General Aladeen. In his routines, Baron Cohen's characters interact with unsuspecting people who do not realise they are being set up for comic situations and self-revealing ridicule.

Baron Cohen was named Best Newcomer at the 1999 British Comedy Awards for The 11 O'Clock Show, and since then, his work has been further recognised with two BAFTA Awards for Da Ali G Show, several Emmy nominations, a nomination for an Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay, and a Golden Globe for Best Actor for his work in the feature film Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. After the release of Borat, Baron Cohen stated that because the public had become too familiar with the characters, he would retire Borat and Ali G. Similarly, after the release of Brüno, Baron Cohen has stated he would also retire the title character.^[4]

Early life[link]

Baron Cohen, the middle of three brothers, was born in Hammersmith, West London. His mother, Daniella Naomi (née Weiser), was born in Israel, and his father, Gerald Baron Cohen, an accountant, is a native of London.^[5][6] Baron Cohen has two brothers: Erran and Amnon.^[7] His family is Jewish.^[8] His paternal grandfather, Morris Cohen, who was from Pontypridd, Wales, had added "Baron" to his surname.^[6][9] His maternal grandmother, who lives in Haifa, Israel, trained as a ballet dancer in Germany.^{[5][10][11][12]} Erran is a composer and has worked on several of his films. Internationally renowned autism researcher Simon Baron-Cohen is his cousin.^[13] Baron Cohen attended Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School, a private school in Elstree, Hertfordshire, north of London.^[14] He went on to the University of Cambridge, entering Christ's College, Cambridge, where he read history.^[15] While attending the Cambridge University Amateur Dramatic Club, Baron Cohen acted in the plays Fiddler on the Roof and Cyrano de Bergerac, and performed in Habonim Dror Jewish theatre performances.^[16]

Early roles[link]

After leaving university, Baron Cohen worked for a time as a fashion model, appearing in many fashion magazines.^[16] By the early 1990s, he was hosting a weekly programme on Windsor cable television's local broadcasts with Carol Kirkwood, who later became a BBC weather forecaster. In 1995, Channel 4 was planning a replacement for its series The Word, and disseminated an open call for new television presenters. Baron Cohen sent in a tape of himself in the character of Kristo, a fictional television reporter (who developed into the Kazakh Borat Sagdiyev), which caught the attention of a producer. Baron Cohen hosted Pump TV from 1995–1996. In 1996, he began presenting the youth chat programme F2F for Granada Talk TV. He took clown training in Paris, at the Ecole Philippe Gaulier, studying under master-clown Philippe Gaulier. Of his former pupil, Gaulier says: "He was a good clown, full of spirit".^[17] In the late 1990s, Baron Cohen made his first feature film appearance in the British comedy The Jolly Boys' Last Stand. In 2000, Baron Cohen played the part of Super Greg for a series of TV advertisements for Lee Jeans; the advertisements never aired but the website for Super Greg created an internet sensation.^[18]

Characters[link]

Ali G[link]

Baron Cohen as Ali G, offering a speech at Harvard University's Class Day during Commencement ceremonies

Baron Cohen appeared during two-minute sketches as his fashion reporter Brüno on the Paramount Comedy Channel during 1998. He shot to fame when his comic character Ali G, an uneducated, boorish junglist, hailing from Staines (a suburban town in Middlesex, to the west of London), started appearing on the British television show The 11 O'Clock Show on Channel 4, which first went to air 8 September 1998. A year after the premiere of the show, GQ named him comedian of the year.^[19] He won Best Newcomer at the 1999 British Comedy Awards, and was nominated for Best British Entertainment Performance at the British Academy Television Awards.^[19]

Da Ali G Show began in 2000, and won the BAFTA for Best Comedy in the following year.^[20] Also in 2000, Baron Cohen as Ali G appeared as the limousine driver in Madonna's 2000 video "Music", directed by Jonas Åkerlund, who was also responsible for directing the titles for Da Ali G Show.

In 2002, Ali G was the central character in the feature film Ali G Indahouse, in which he is elected to the British Parliament and foils a plot to bulldoze a community centre in his hometown, Staines.^[21] His television show was exported to the United States in 2003, with new episodes set there, for HBO.

Ali G's interviews with celebrities (often politicians) gained notoriety partly because the subjects were not privy to the joke that Ali G, rather than being a real interviewer, was a comic character played by Baron Cohen. According to Rolling Stone magazine, Baron Cohen would always enter the interview area in character as Ali G, carrying equipment and appearing to be an insignificant crew member. He would arrive with a suited man, whom the interviewee naturally thought was the interviewer. Baron Cohen, as Ali G, would sit down to begin conducting the interview by asking the interviewee some preliminary questions. The interviewee, however, would remain under the impression that the smartly-dressed director would be conducting the interview until short notice prior to cameras rolling: this would grant an advantage of surprise, whereby the interviewee would be less likely to opt out of the Ali interview prior to its start.^[22]

The resulting willingness of Baron Cohen's targets to answer his frequently risqué questions often created surprising conversations. Interviewees have included:

• astronaut Buzz Aldrin
• politician and consumer advocate Ralph Nader
• writer Gore Vidal
• real estate mogul Donald Trump
• former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop
• basketball players Dwyane Wade, Shaquille O'Neal, Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant, Richard Jefferson, Tim Duncan, Ben Wallace and Robert Horry
• former US Secretary of State James Baker III
• former US Attorney General Dick Thornburgh
• businessman and billionaire Mohamed Al-Fayed
• Professor Heinz Wolff
• former US Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich
• political commentator Pat Buchanan
• Professor Noam Chomsky
• footballer David Beckham and his wife, ex-Spice Girl Victoria Beckham, for the UK's Comic Relief
• former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali (whom Baron Cohen, in his Ali G character, referred to as 'Boutros Boutros Boutros-Ghali')
• former Conservative Party MP Neil Hamilton
• journalist Andy Rooney
• Labour politician Tony Benn
• DUP politician Sammy Wilson

Baron Cohen is a supporter of Comic Relief and as Ali G has hosted some interviews for the benefit of the charity.^[23]

Borat[link]

Baron Cohen as Borat, 2006

Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, a feature film with Borat at the centre, was screened at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival and released in the United Kingdom on 2 November 2006, in the United States on 3 November 2006 and Australia 23 November 2006. The film is about a journey across the United States in an ice cream truck, in which the main character is obsessed with the idea of marrying Pamela Anderson. The film is a mockumentary which includes interviews with various American citizens that poke fun at American culture, as well as sexism, racism, homophobia, anti-Semitism, jingoism and Baywatch.

It debuted at the #1 spot in the US, taking in an estimated $26.4 million in just 837 theatres averaging $31,600 per theatre, the fourth highest per-theatre average of all time for movies opening wide (500 screens or more), behind Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and Spider-Man.

Baron Cohen won the 2007 Golden Globe in the "Best Actor – Musical or Comedy" category, his sixth such award. Although Borat was up for "Best Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy", the film lost to Dreamgirls. On 23 January 2007, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. He shared his nomination with the film's co-writers, Ant Hines, Peter Baynham, Sy Mordecai Finesto, Dan Mazer, and Todd Phillips.

Aside from the comic elements of his characters, Baron Cohen's performances are interpreted by some as reflecting uncomfortable truths about his audience. He juxtaposes his own Jewish lineage with the anti-Semitism of his character Borat.^[24]

In 2007, Baron Cohen published a travel guide as Borat, with dual titles: Borat: Touristic Guidings To Minor Nation of U.S. and A. and Borat: Touristic Guidings To Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.^[25]

On 21 December 2007, Baron Cohen announced he was retiring the character of Borat.^[26]

Brüno[link]

Another alter ego Sacha Baron Cohen performed as is 'Brüno', a flamboyantly gay, allegedly-19-year-old, Austrian fashion show presenter who often lures his unwitting subjects into making provocative statements and engaging in embarrassing behaviour, as well as leading them to contradict themselves, often in the same interview. Brüno asks the subjects to answer 'yes or no' questions with either "Vassup" (whats up) or "Ich don't think so" (No); these are occasionally substituted with "Ach, ja!" (Ah yes!) or "Nicht, nicht" ("Nicht" means "not" in German). In one segment on Da Ali G Show, he encouraged his guest to answer questions with either "Keep them in the ghetto" or "Train to Auschwitz". Brüno's main comedic satire pertains to the vacuity and inanity of the fashion and clubbing world. In May 2009, at the MTV Movie Awards, Baron Cohen appeared as 'Brüno' wearing a white angel costume, a white jock strap, white go-go boots, and white wings; and did an aerial stunt where he dropped from a height (using wires) onto Eminem. Baron Cohen landed on Eminem's lap, with his rear in Eminem's face, prompting Eminem to exit the venue with fellow rappers D12. Eminem later admitted to staging the stunt with Baron Cohen.^[27]

Film[link]

After an intense bidding war that included such Hollywood powerhouses as DreamWorks, Sony, and 20th Century Fox; Universal Pictures paid a reported $42.5 million for the film rights.^[28] A number of shill companies and websites were created in order to draw potential interviewees into interviews by creating an illusion of legitimacy.^[29] The film was released in July 2009.

The Dictator[link]

Baron Cohen's 2012 film, The Dictator, was described by its press as "the heroic story of a dictator who risked his life to ensure that democracy would never come to the country he so lovingly oppressed".^[30] Baron Cohen played Admiral General Aladeen, a dictator from a fictional country called the Republic of Wadiya.^[31][32] Borat and Bruno film director Larry Charles directed the film.^[33] The main target of the film's satire was Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was still alive when the film was written.^[34] The producers of the film were concerned it would anger Gaddafi, possibly even resulting in a terrorist attack, so they released deliberate misinformation saying that the film was loosely based on a romance novel written by former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.^[34][35]

On 26 February 2012, Baron Cohen was allegedly banned from attending the 84th Academy Awards in his role as Admiral General Aladeen but the rumour was denied by the Academy, saying "we haven't banned him. We're just waiting to hear what he's going to do" but made it clear that "Cohen is not welcome to use the red carpet as a platform for a promotional stunt".^[36] Cohen eventually appeared at the awards' red carpet with a pair of uniformed female bodyguards, holding an urn which he claimed was filled with the ashes of Kim Jong-il. The "ashes", which Baron Cohen admitted to Howard Stern on the Tuesday, May 8, 2012 episode of The Howard Stern Show was flour, were "accidentally" spilled onto Ryan Seacrest.

Performer versus characters[link]

Baron Cohen has often been confused with the identity of one of his characters. When he posed as Borat to host the MTV Europe Music Awards in Lisbon, the central Hungarian news wire agency MTI reported that the host was 'Borat Sagdiyev'.^[37] As most Hungarian newspapers and television networks take MTI as their official source, the misinterpretation of the character spread rapidly in Hungary, with some sources (such as TV2) emphasising that a Kazakh news reporter hosted the awards, while others (such as Index.hu) noticed and pointed out the error.^[38]

Controversies and criticism[link]

Baron Cohen has encountered many controversies regarding some of his comic characters:

Sacha Baron Cohen at the E! after party, January 2007.

In an interview with former British MP Neil Hamilton in 2000, Ali G offered Hamilton what was allegedly cannabis, which Hamilton accepted and smoked, creating some minor controversy in the British media.^[39]

At the 2006 MTV Movie Awards, Borat introduced Gnarls Barkley's performance of "Crazy", where he made a comment about Jessica Simpson, saying that he liked her mouth and that he could see it clearly through her denim pants.

At the 2006 UK premiere of Borat, he arrived in Leicester Square in a cart pulled by a mule and a number of "Kazakh women", announcing: "Good evening, gentleman and prostitutes. After this I stay in a hotel in Kings Cross. We will all drink, wrestle with no clothes on and shoot dogs from the window."^[40]

Baron Cohen has had some trouble because of racist or prejudiced comments his characters have made (see Da Ali G Show). HBO spokesman Quentin Schaffer has replied to criticism concerning Baron Cohen's characters, "Through his alter-egos, he delivers an obvious satire that exposes people's ignorance and prejudice in much the same way All in the Family did years ago."^[41] Regarding his portrayal as the anti-Semitic Borat, Baron Cohen says the segments are a "dramatic demonstration of how racism feeds on dumb conformity, as much as rabid bigotry", rather than a display of racism by Baron Cohen himself.^[42] "Borat essentially works as a tool. By himself being anti-Semitic, he lets people lower their guard and expose their own prejudice", Baron Cohen explains.^[11] Addressing the same topic in an NPR interview with Robert Siegel, Baron Cohen says "...and I think that's quite an interesting thing with Borat, which is people really let down their guard with him because they're in a room with somebody who seems to have these outrageous opinions. They sometimes feel much more relaxed about letting their own outrageous, politically incorrect, prejudiced opinions come out."^[43]

Baron Cohen, the grandson of a Holocaust survivor, says he also wishes in particular to expose the role of indifference in that genocide. "When I was in university, there was this major historian of the Third Reich, Ian Kershaw, who said, 'The path to Auschwitz was paved with indifference.' I know it's not very funny being a comedian talking about the Holocaust, but it's an interesting idea that not everyone in Germany had to be a raving anti-Semite. They just had to be apathetic."^[11] Regarding the enthusiastic response to his song, "In My Country There Is Problem" (also known as "Throw the Jew Down the Well"), he says, "Did it reveal that they were anti-Semitic? Perhaps. But maybe it just revealed that they were indifferent to anti-Semitism."^[11]

Baron Cohen walked onto the runway during the Ágatha Ruiz de la Prada fashion show in Milan on 26 September 2008. In the character of one of his alter-egos Brüno, he was wearing a costume made out of velcro. He appeared on the stage with a blanket and items of clothing stuck to his velcro suit. Lights were turned off while security intervened and escorted him off the stage, and the fashion show resumed normally shortly thereafter. Baron Cohen and his team allegedly accessed the fashion show using fake IDs.^[44]

During an appearance on Late Show with David Letterman,^[when?] Baron Cohen stated he was restricted from answering David Letterman's question as to how he managed to get an interview with Pat Buchanan while in character as Ali G due to pending "legal reasons".^[45]

While introducing an award at the 2009 MTV Movie Awards, Baron Cohen was lowered upside-down from the rafters dressed as an angel right into rapper Eminem's lap after an apparently staged problem with his wire harness. Baron Cohen had only a jockstrap on underneath and fully exposed his buttocks in Eminem's face. Eminem swore repeatedly, demanding that his friends, members of D12, each of whom were sitting next to Eminem, remove Baron Cohen, then left the auditorium.^[46] Baron Cohen then announced the winner (Zac Efron) while still hanging from the wires above the stage. It was later revealed that Eminem and Baron Cohen had planned and rehearsed the gag together.^[47]

Pauly Shore claimed, in 2009, that Baron Cohen's film, Brüno, was "stolen from Shore's 'mockumentary'", as the film Brüno had started production after the start of production for Adopted and also featured the main character adopting a child from a Third World nation.^[48]

In March 2012, the organizers of a tournament in Kuwait caused some embarrassment after Baron Cohen's parody of the Kazakhstan national anthem from the film Borat, was played instead of the actual anthem at a medal ceremony.^[49][50] The Kazakhstan shooting team demanded an apology from the organizers, who had mistakenly downloaded Baron Cohen's parody from the Internet.^[51]

Future projects[link]

Baron Cohen will star as Freddie Mercury of the rock band Queen in Mercury, an upcoming film about the period in the band's history from 1971 to the Live Aid concert in 1985.^[52] It was Baron Cohen himself who contacted screenwriter Peter Morgan with the idea of portraying the flamboyant lead singer.^[53] Time commented with approval on his singing ability and physical resemblance to Mercury.^[54]

Other work[link]

Baron Cohen guest-starred in the fifth season Curb Your Enthusiasm, with Dustin Hoffman as a guide to Heaven. He also provided the voice of the ring-tailed lemur king, King Julien, in DreamWorks Animation's film series, Madagascar, and appeared as Will Ferrell's arch rival the French Formula One speed demon Jean Girard in the 2006 hit Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. He also appeared alongside Johnny Depp in the 2007 film Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street as Signor Adolfo Pirelli, and co-starred in Martin Scorsese's 2011 adventure film Hugo.

Baron Cohen tends to avoid doing interviews out of character. However, in 2004, he did the talk show circuit appearing as himself on Late Show with David Letterman, The Opie and Anthony Show, The Howard Stern Show,^[55] and others in order to promote the upcoming season of his show on HBO. He was also interviewed on NPR's All Things Considered.^[43] He also did an interview with Rolling Stone, published in November 2006, that the magazine labelled as "his only interview as himself".^[11] He also appeared in an interview out of character with Terry Gross on NPR's Fresh Air on 4 January 2007.^[56]

Baron Cohen has twice presented the MTV Europe Music Awards, first as Ali G on 8 November 2001, in Frankfurt, Germany, and then as Borat on 3 November 2005 in Lisbon, Portugal. Baron Cohen appeared out of character to accept an award at the British Comedy Awards in December 2006. He said at the time that Borat could not make it to the awards as "he's guest of honour at the Holocaust denial conference in Tehran",^[57] referring to the International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust.

Borat director Larry Charles explains that Baron Cohen generally appears in character partly to "protect his weakness", by focusing public interest on his characters rather than himself.^[58] His other reason, Newsweek claims, is that Baron Cohen is fiercely private: "...according to the UK press, his publicists denied not only that he attended a party for the London premiere of Borat, but also that a party even occurred."^[58]

It was reported online that Baron Cohen might play Freddie Mercury in a biographical film,^[59] but his publicist later declared that Baron Cohen would not do so.^[60] However, on 16 September 2010, representatives for Cohen confirmed that he would indeed be playing the role in an as-of-yet untitled biopic about Mercury.^[61][62]

Baron Cohen shot a spread with supermodel Alessandra Ambrosio for Marie Claire magazine to promote the film Brüno.^[63]

Sports Illustrated's 6 November 2006 issue contains a column called "Skater vs. Instigator", which illustrates various amusing "parallels" between Baron Cohen and figure skater Sasha Cohen, ranging from their mutually held personal significance of the number 4,^[64] to their mutual romantic interests in redheads.

Baron Cohen was featured on Australian talk show Rove as Brüno on 28 June 2009.^{[citation needed]}

Baron Cohen was featured in the Time 100 list for 2007.^[65]

In 2010, Cohen guest-starred on The Simpsons in the episode "The Greatest Story Ever D'ohed" as Jakob, an angry Israeli tour guide.

Personal life[link]

Marriage and family[link]

Baron Cohen married Australian actress Isla Fisher on 15 March 2010.^[66] After three years of study, Fisher converted to Judaism in early 2007.^[67] She received the approval of Baron Cohen's observant Jewish parents.^[68] Baron Cohen and Fisher have two daughters: Olive, born on 19 October 2007 in Los Angeles,^[69] and Elula, born in August 2010.^[70]

Legal issues[link]

Two residents of Glod, Romania, the Gypsy village in which the opening scenes of Borat were filmed, hired attorney Edward Fagan to sue the makers of Borat for $30 million. They alleged that the intent of the film was misrepresented to them, that the poorest members of their village were made to look like "savages", and that they were underpaid, particularly when their minute salaries were compared to the millions earned by the completed film. During several segments, children were filmed with guns and other weapons and in another scene, an amputee who lost his arm was told to wear a rubber fist sex toy.^[71] The lawsuit was dismissed in New York hearing on the grounds that the allegations were too vague to stand up in court.^[72]

The government of Kazakhstan threatened Baron Cohen with legal action following the 2005 MTV Europe Music Awards ceremony in Lisbon, and the authority in charge of the country's country-code top-level domain name removed the website that he had created for his character Borat (previously: http://www.borat.kz) for alleged violation of the law—specifically, registering for the domain under a false name. The New York Times, (among others), has reported that Baron Cohen, (in character as Borat), replied: "I'd like to state that I have no connection with Mr Cohen and fully support my government decision to sue this Jew".^[73] He was, however, defended by Dariga Nazarbayeva, a politician and the daughter of Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who stated, "We should not be afraid of humour and we shouldn't try to control everything, I think."^[74] The deputy foreign minister of Kazakhstan later invited Baron Cohen to visit the country, stating that he could learn that "women drive cars, wine is made of grapes, and Jews are free to go to synagogues".^[75] After the worldwide success of the Borat film, the Kazakh government, including the president, altered their stance on Baron Cohen's parody, tacitly recognising the invaluable press the controversy created for their country.^[76]

Baron Cohen encountered another problem around his Borat character. Two of the three University of South Carolina students who appear in Borat sued the filmmakers, alleging that they were duped into signing release forms while drunk, and that false promises were made that the footage was for a documentary that would never be screened in the US. On 11 December 2006, a Los Angeles judge denied the pair a restraining order to remove them from the film. The lawsuit was dismissed in February 2007.^[77]

On 22 May 2009, a charity worker at a seniors' bingo game sued Baron Cohen, claiming an incident shot for Brüno at a charity bingo tournament left her disabled.^[78] However, the worker later retracted her statement, saying the "actor never struck her", but that he "beat her down emotionally to the point she's now confined to a wheelchair".^[79] The scene did not make the final cut for the film. The case was dismissed in late November 2009 on Anti-SLAPP grounds with all attorney's fees to be paid by the charity worker. The dismissal was appealed and upheld on 12 September 2011.^[80]

A lawsuit was filed on 30 April 2010 in the District of Columbia by Palestinian Christian Ayman Abu Aita of Beit Sahour, Bethlehem, West Bank, against Baron Cohen relating to his interview which was used in Brüno. Aita alleges that he has been defamed by false accusations that he is a terrorist. Aita included David Letterman in the suit based on comments made during the 7 July 2009 appearance by Baron Cohen on the Late Show with David Letterman.^[81] On 4 November 2010, the D.C. case was dismissed with Aita given 120 days to file in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York or have the case permanently dismissed.^[82] The case was re-filed in the Supreme Court of New York.^[83]

Israel and Judaism[link]

Baron Cohen first acted in theatrical productions featuring the Socialist-Zionist youth movement Habonim Dror.^[84]

He spent a year in Israel at Kibbutz Rosh HaNikra and Kibbutz Beit HaEmek as part of the Shnat Habonim Dror, as well as taking part in the programme Machon L'Madrichei Chutz La'Aretz for Jewish youth movement leaders.

According to Baron Cohen, "I wouldn't say I am a religious Jew. I am proud of my Jewish identity and there are certain things I do and customs I keep." He tries to keep kosher and attends synagogue about twice a year.^[85]

Baron Cohen frequently spoke in Hebrew while playing the anti-Semitic character Borat. He also sang the lyrics from an old kibbutz song (pretending that it was the Kazakh national anthem) in an episode of Da Ali G Show. In one of the deleted scenes of his film, after being asked by the host-pastor to lead the table in a pre-meal prayer service, Baron Cohen, in his character role of Borat, sings a lengthy hymn (not Hebrew)^[86] that has clear similarities to the Mussaf prayer service of the Jewish High Holidays.^{[original research?]} He actually repeatedly sings two Polish phrases "Satan does not speak English" (Szatan nie mówi po angielsku)^[87] and "Could you speak slowly please?"^{[original research?]}

Awards and nominations[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2010)

• 1999 – Won British Comedy Award, Best Male Comedy Newcomer for The 11 O'Clock Show (1998)^[88]
• 2000 – Nominated BAFTA TV Award, Best Entertainment Performance for The 11 O'Clock Show (1998)^[19]
• 2000 – Nominated National Television Awards, UK, Most Popular Comedy Performer for Da Ali G Show (2000)
• 2000 – Won TV Quick Award, TV Personality of the Year for Da Ali G Show (2000)
• 2001 – Won BAFTA TV Award, Best Comedy (Programme or Series) for Da Ali G Show (2000) (shared)
• 2001 – Won BAFTA TV Award, Best Comedy Performance for Da Ali G Show (2000)
• 2003 – Nominated Emmy Award, Outstanding Non-Fiction Program (Alternative) for Da Ali G Show (2003) (shared)
• 2003 – Nominated Emmy Award, Outstanding Writing for Non-Fiction Programming for Da Ali G Show (2003) (shared)
• 2004 – Nominated Golden Satellite Award, Best Performance by an Actor in a Series, Comedy or Musical for Da Ali G Show (2003)
• 2005 – Nominated Emmy Award, Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series for Da Ali G Show (2003) (shared)
• 2005 – Nominated Emmy Award, Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program for Da Ali G Show (2003) (shared)
• 2006 – Won Ronnie Barker Award^[89]
• 2007 – Won MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss alongside Will Ferrell in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby

[edit] Borat awards and nominations

• 2006 – Won: Los Angeles Films Critics Association Award for Best Actor.
• 2006 – Won: San Francisco Films Critics Circle Award for Best Actor.
• 2006 – Winner: Toronto Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor.
• 2006 – Won: Deutscher Comedypreis (German comedy award) for Best International Comedy.
• 2007 – Won: Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Comedy/Musical
• 2007 – Nominated: Golden Globe for Best Picture Comedy/Musical.
• 2007 – Nominated: London Film Critics' Circle Award for British Actor of the Year.
• 2007 – Nominated: Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay (shared).
• 2007 – Nominated: Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay (shared).
• 2007 – Won: MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic Performance and Nominated for Best Movie as well and Best Fight with Ken Davitian.
• 2007 – Won: The Evening Standard British Film Awards: Peter Sellers award for Best Comedy.

Filmography[link]

References[link]