In this historical photo from the U.S. space agency, the Sikorsky JH-19 Chickasaw was used for several purposes, including dropping research models.
The Sikorsky helicopter is seen here, in March of 1965, in the middle of its NASA career, with a model of the Apollo spacecraft attached to the drop mount near the cargo door. The H-19 was later sent to the Navy's Cheatham Annex in Yorktown, Virginia, for salvage.
Each weekday, SPACE.com looks back at the history of spaceflight through photos (archive).