Prologue of the Flying Wonder
This is a photograph taken in 1907 on the Cornu Helicopter. A French engineer, Paul Cornu built the machine.
- The Cornu Helicopter 1st flew on November 13, 1907
- first con-trolled vertical free flight.
- Cornu balanced out the torque with counter-rotating rotors.
- first con-trolled vertical free flight.
- Cornu balanced out the torque with counter-rotating rotors.
2 things that previous helicopter lacked:
1) "Many pioneers of vertical flight developed original designs (in the 19th Century), but all the early experimenters lacked two essentials: a true understanding of the nature of lift (aerodynamics) and an adequate power source"
- Stanley S. McGowen, Author of Helicopters: An Illustrated History of Their Impact (Weapons and Warfare), (2005)
2) "Although inventors who powered their models with miniature, lightweight steam engines enjoyed some limited success, the lack of a suitable power plant stifled aeronautical progress for decades"- Stanley S. McGowen, Author of Helicopters: An Illustrated History of Their Impact (Weapons and Warfare), (2005)
- Stanley S. McGowen, Author of Helicopters: An Illustrated History of Their Impact (Weapons and Warfare), (2005)
2) "Although inventors who powered their models with miniature, lightweight steam engines enjoyed some limited success, the lack of a suitable power plant stifled aeronautical progress for decades"- Stanley S. McGowen, Author of Helicopters: An Illustrated History of Their Impact (Weapons and Warfare), (2005)
Early Inventors of Helicopters:
- Leonardo da Vinci (in 1483, he 'sketched a flying machine based on the Archimedes screw')
- Mikhail Lomonosov (in 1754, he 'fashioned a small coaxial rotor modeled after the Chinese toy (Bamboo-copter) but powered by wound-up springs. When released, his contrivance flew for a few seconds')
~ Stanley S. McGowen, Author of Helicopters: An Illustrated History of Their Impact (Weapons and Warfare), (2005)
- Mikhail Lomonosov (in 1754, he 'fashioned a small coaxial rotor modeled after the Chinese toy (Bamboo-copter) but powered by wound-up springs. When released, his contrivance flew for a few seconds')
~ Stanley S. McGowen, Author of Helicopters: An Illustrated History of Their Impact (Weapons and Warfare), (2005)
Sources:
Helicopters: An Illustrated History of Their Impact (Weapons and Warfare) by Stanley S. McGowen
All words in bold have a definition in the Glossary page.