determined to reach her home soil then and there. She pleaded with the captain to let her be rowed ashore, which was close by. He eventually relented and two volunteers assisted her into the dinghy and headed for the beach. But a huge wave overturned the boat and Rose was drowned, weighted down by a bag of gold she had around her neck, which she intended to donate to the depleted Southern treasury. Rose's body was found washed ashore the next morning. Since that time people have reported seeing a woman in Civil War era dress wandering along the beach at the spot. So, being not too far distant from each other, could Fort Fisher's lady ghost be none other than that of Rose O'Neil Greenhow herself?On September 14, 1939, the VS-300, the world’s first practical helicopter, took flight at Stratford, Connecticut. Designed by Igor Sikorsky and built by the Vought-Sikorsky Aircraft Division of the United Aircraft Corporation, the helicopter was the first to incorporate a single main rotor and tail rotor design. Piloted by Sikorsky, the September 14 tethered flight lasted just a few seconds. The first free flight took place on May 13, 1940. The innovative 28-foot diameter, three-blade rotor allowed for variable pitch of the blades with a blade speed of 250 to 300 mph. The concepts demonstrated in the VS-300 provided the basis for the first production helicopters and became the standard for helicopter manufacturing across the world. On June 27, 1931, Sikorsky submitted a patent application (no. 1,994,488) for