The mechanics that make helicopter flight possible have been around for centuries. In ancient China, children put slightly twisted feathers on sticks and rapidly spin them, so that they would lift into the air and gently fly back to the ground. In ancient Greece, the mathematician and inventor Archimedes created a rotating screw for a Read More…
Tag: vertical takeoff
Contributions of the Autogyro
At the beginning of 1923, Juan de la Cierva, a Spanish engineer, developed a rotor blade design and articulated rotor blades. Cierva used a flexible hinge to attach the blades to a shaft. Once the articulated rotor blades began moving, the hinge enabled Cierva to control the lift created by the blades. Once he figured Read More…