1483

Leonardo​ ​da​ ​Vinci​ ​draws​ ​a​ ​model​ ​of​ ​a​ ​helicopter.

1843
Sir​ ​George​ ​Cayley​ ​creates​ ​a​ ​steam​ ​powered​ ​model.​ ​Leonardo​ ​da
Vinci’s​ ​had​ ​a​ ​concept​ ​of​ ​using​ ​flapping​ ​wings​ ​as​ ​a​ ​means​ ​of
propulsion.​ ​This​ ​resulted​ ​in​ ​his​ ​1843​ ​convertiplane​ ​model​ ​called​ ​the
ôAerial​ ​Carriage.ö

1907
Paul​ ​Cornru​ ​creates​ ​the​ ​first​ ​man​ ​carrying​ ​helicopter.​ ​The​ ​Cornru
helicopter​ ​was​ ​an​ ​experimental​ ​helicopter​ ​built​ ​in​ ​France.

1916
Istvan​ ​Petroczy​ ​and​ ​Theodore​ ​von​ ​Karman​ ​make​ ​a​ ​tethred​ ​helicopter.
The​ ​tethered​ ​helicopter​ ​had​ ​10​ ​to​ ​12​ ​lifting​ ​rotors​ ​arranged​ ​in​ ​a​ ​circle,
but​ ​the​ ​problem​ ​of​ ​weight​ ​and​ ​complexity​ ​reduced​ ​the​ ​final​ ​choice​ ​to​ ​a
four-rotor​ ​design.

1923
Juan​ ​da​ ​la​ ​Cierva​ ​creates​ ​a​ ​autogrio.​ ​In​ ​January​ ​1923,​ ​autogiro​ ​No.​ ​4
flew​ ​a​ ​four​ ​kilometer​ ​circuit

1936
Focke​ ​Achgeliis​ ​Fa​ ​61,​ ​the​ ​first​ ​successful​ ​helicopter.​ ​This​ ​helicopter
is​ ​often​ ​considered​ ​the​ ​first​ ​functional​ ​helicopter.​ ​He​ ​created​ ​a​ ​new
company,​ ​Focke-Achgelis,​ ​after​ ​development​ ​had​ ​begun.

1939
Sikorsky​ ​creates​ ​the​ ​VS-300,​ ​the​ ​first​ ​practical​ ​helicopter​ ​in​ ​the​ ​US.
The​ ​Sikorsky​ ​Aircraft​ ​Corporation​ ​is​ ​an​ ​American​ ​aircraft​ ​manufacturer
based​ ​in​ ​Stratford,​ ​Connecticut.​ ​It​ ​was​ ​established​ ​by​ ​Igor​ ​Sikorsky​ ​in
1925​ ​and​ ​was​ ​among​ ​the​ ​first​ ​companies​ ​to​ ​manufacture​ ​helicopters
for​ ​civilian​ ​and​ ​military​ ​use.

1997
The​ ​first​ ​V-22​ ​Osprey​ ​built​ ​to​ ​production​ ​standards​ ​made​ ​its​ ​first​ ​flight.
The​ ​V-22​ ​Osprey​ ​was​ ​the​ ​first​ ​aircraft​ ​designed​ ​from​ ​the​ ​ground​ ​up​ ​to
meet​ ​the​ ​needs​ ​of​ ​all​ ​four​ ​U.S.​ ​armed​ ​services.​ ​In​ ​partnership​ ​with
Boeing,​ ​Bell​ ​Helicopter​ ​Textron​ ​built​ ​the​ ​tiltrotor​ ​aircraft​ ​that​ ​takes​ ​off
and​ ​lands​ ​vertically​ ​like​ ​a​ ​helicopter,​ ​and​ ​once​ ​airborne,​ ​can​ ​convert​ ​to
a​ ​turboprop​ ​airplane​ ​capable​ ​of​ ​high-speed​ ​and​ ​high-altitude​ ​flight.