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Leonardo da Vinci’s sketches from the late fifteenth century were the ancestor to the modern day flying machine. As with many of da Vinci’s ideas, he never actually built and tested it.
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1774- French inventor, Launoy and Bienvenue created a toy with a rotary-wing that could lift and fly and proved the principle of helicopter flight.
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1863- the French writer Ponton D'Amecourt was the first person to use the term "helicopter" from the two words "helico" for spiral and "pter" for wings.
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1907- The very first piloted helicopter was invented by Paul Cornu in 1907, however, this design was not successful
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1939- On September 14, 1939, the VS-300, the world’s first practical helicopter, took flight at Stratford, Connecticut. Designed by Igor Sikorsky and built by the Vought-Sikorsky Aircraft Division of the United Aircraft Corporation, the helicopter was this first to incorporate a single main rotor and tail rotor design. It lasted just a few seconds.
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1944- American inventor Stanley Hiller, Jr. made the first helicopter with all metal rotor blades that were very stiff. They allowed helicopter to fly at speeds much faster than before.
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1949- Stanley Hiller piloted the first helicopter flight across the United States, flying a helicopter that he invented called the Hiller 360.
