paul cornu's helicopter in november 1907

in 1907 a couple of curious french brothers, jacques and louis breguet, began tinkering with the idea of rotary
powered flight. only a few years after the wright brothers first successful flight, they successfully built the first
known example of a manned helicopter. 100 years later, the helicopter has evolved tremendously, playing a
major role in history. it now fulfills many important functions like extinguishing fires and saving lives. on the 100th
anniversary of the helicopter it is hard to believe how much it has changed and how much it will evolve in
the future.


l: the curtiss-bleecker helicopter shown in 1930 featured a separate propellor on each blade of the main propellor
r: the pv-2 prototype helicopter was flown in 1943 sparking the imagination to think that one day we may all fly our
own helicopters


the bell uh-1 model, used in the vietnam was, was one of the most popular helicopters for both military and civilian use


the rotorway international a600 talon is a small two seater helicopter that is sold to private citizens as a recreational
flying vehicle


helicopters are commonly employed to extinguish forest fires. shown here is the sikorsky s-64 skycrane, capable of
transporting more than 20,000 pounds

via cnet