or almost five centuries, the helicopter was a dream that never took off despite numerous attempts. But in 1942, the first version of today's modern helicopter got off the ground thanks to Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., the Stratford, CT-based company that designed it. Nearly 70 years later at the 2009 Heli-Expo in Anaheim, CA, the aviation pioneer wanted an exhibit that would speak to its position as a world leader in modern aviation.

Designed by McMillan Group Inc. of Westport, CT, the 14,400-square-foot booth drew attendees in with a 16-by-9-foot single-sided screen and four double-sided 6-by-10.5-foot LED screens suspended about 22 feet off the floor. Beneath the screens that ran a high-octane video of helicopters performing aerial acrobatics, attendees converged around four helicopters on display. Positioned on cherry-wood platforms inlaid with stainless-steel meridian lines, the aircraft were angled forward at a pitch of 10 degrees, which made them look frozen in mid-mission.

After attendees enjoyed refreshments in the ground-level café, staff escorted the visitors up a cherry-wood and stainless-steel staircase to the curved and cantilevered conference-room structures linked by a 32-foot-long steel bridge. Angled forward like the helicopter platforms, the structures held a combined nine meeting rooms. Sikorsky soundproofed the rooms with 10-inch-thick insulated walls and a perforated acrylic material that created an intriguing two-way theatrical scrim, allowing clients inside the rooms to look out, while visitors outside on the show floor saw only a Sikorsky-blue surface.

The sky- and flight-inspired exhibit design definitely propelled the company's goal of branding itself as a trailblazer of modern aviation. According to an in-booth survey, 94 percent of visitors left the exhibit with the feeling that Sikorsky is a leader in aviation-related technology. As it turns out, for Sikorsky and its exhibit, the sky was indeed the limit.e