The Cornu helicopter was an experimental

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

built in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, and is widely credited with the first free flight of a rotary-wing

aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engine ...

when it took to the air on 13 November 1907. Built by bicycle-maker

Paul Cornu Paul Cornu (; June 15, 1881 – 6 June 1944) was a French engineer. Life Paul Cornu, of Romanian origins, was born in Glos la Ferrière, France and was one of thirteen children. At a young age, he helped his father in his transports company. H ...

, it was an open-framework structure built around a curved steel tube that carried a

rotor Rotor may refer to: Science and technology Engineering * Rotor (electric), the non-stationary part of an alternator or electric motor, operating with a stationary element so called the stator *Helicopter rotor, the rotary wing(s) of a rotorcraft ...

at either end, and the

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ...

and

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

in the middle. Power was transmitted to the rotors by a

drive belt A belt is a loop of flexible material used to link two or more rotating shafts mechanically, most often parallel. Belts may be used as a source of motion, to transmit power efficiently or to track relative movement. Belts are looped over pulley ...

that linked both rotors and spun them in opposite directions. Control was to be provided by cables that could alter the pitch of the rotor blades, and by steerable vanes at either end of the machine intended to direct the downwash of the rotors. The Cornu helicopter is reported to have made a number of short hops, rising perhaps 1.5 or 2 metres (5–7 feet) into the air and staying aloft for something less than one minute. This was long enough for Cornu to learn that the control systems he had designed were ineffective, and he abandoned the machine soon thereafter. Modern engineering analyses have demonstrated that the Cornu helicopter could not have been capable of sustained flight. Nevertheless, in order to commemorate the centenary of his achievement, a replica of the helicopter was constructed by the '' École supérieure des techniques aéronautiques et de construction automobile (ESTACA)'' and presented to the Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace where it was placed on display on 15 December 2007. A further replica was built by the Hubschraubermuseum Bückeburg (Helicopter Museum of Bückeburg) to pay homage to the merits of Paul Cornu. Since 13 November 2007 it is shown there.

Specifications

References

* * * * {{cite book , last= Leishman , first= J. Gordon , title=Principles of Helicopter Aerodynamics , year=2006 , publisher=Cambridge University Press , location=Cambridge , pages=12–13
Replica project website

News item on ESTACA website

Detailed life and achievements of Paul Cornu with photos and downloadable plans of the helicopter

Cornu No II
1900s French experimental aircraft 1900s French helicopters Aircraft first flown in 1907 Tandem rotor helicopters Single-engined piston helicopters