Paul Cornu
Encyclopedia
Bicycle
A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....
s by trade.
French engineer Paul Cornu designed the world's first manned rotary wing aircraft and made the first piloted free flight with it at Lisieux
Lisieux
Lisieux is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.Lisieux is the capital of the Pays d'Auge area, which is characterised by valleys and hedged farmland...
, Calvados
Calvados
The French department of Calvados is part of the region of Basse-Normandie in Normandy. It takes its name from a cluster of rocks off the English Channel coast...
, France on November 13, 1907. This first flight lifted Cornu about 30 cm (1 ft) and lasted 20 seconds. This is sometimes recognized as the first free (but impractical) helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter 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...
flight with a passenger. This first helicopter was powered by a 24 hp Antoinette engine.
The helicopter was not maneuverable however, and the construction was abandoned after a few flights.
Previously, a French helicopter, the Breguet-Richet Gyroplane I
Breguet-Richet Gyroplane
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Young, Warren R. The Helicopters. "The Epic of Flight". Chicago: Time-Life Books, 1982. ISBN 0-8094-3350-8....
, had managed to lift off by its own power, but it had been held in position by men standing on the ground.
Paul Cornu died in 1944 in Lisieux -France, when his home was destroyed during the bombardment that accompanied the Normandy landings.