Bréguet 1 "Gyroplane"
Very briefly after the successful flights of the Wright Brothers in Kitty Hawk in December of 1903, pioneers of aviation attempted to solve the second biggest problem in the field of aviation: the creation of a motorized aircraft unfettered by the aid of a balloon for vertical ascension.
In the 19th century, all attempts to create a proficient motor were unsuccessful. The sufficiently strong and predominantly light Otto-motors were developed during this emerging aircraft industry and these could provide for the first real attempts with motors.
The brothers Louis and Jacques Bréguet have gone down in history as pioneers in the field of aviation: their construction of Bréguet 1 "Gyroplane No.1" was the first manned and ultimately motorized gyroplane to take off from the ground.
On August 1907, the first flight of "Gyroplane No.1" took place. Professor Charles Richet participated in the project. The test pilot, Volumard, weighed 68 kilograms, the entire aircraft amounting to 578 kilograms at the start of the flight. At any rate, "Gyroplane No.1" lifted 60 centimeters off the ground, however, it "flew" so unstable that four men were needed to bring it to a halt. Nevertheless, the French Academcy of Scientists regarded this attempt as the first motorized vertical ascension of man.
"Gyroplane No.1" possessed a 45 PS strong Antoinette-motor which powered four helicopters arranged in pairs, two of which would counterrotate. Each helicopter was comprised of four biplane wings. The pilot sat below the motor in the middle of the construction. The diameter of " Gyroplane No.1" was 8 meters.
One year later, the "Gyroplane No. 2", equipped with a stronger motor by Renault, followed which could handle 55 PS. After its destruction due to a hard landing, the Bréguet brothers repaired it. However, their further flight attempts did not lead to any breakthrough results.
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