This man was the first to fly into the air in a controlled rotorcraft. He died from a bomb that was not intended for him.
The fate of great people is often tragic. Our hero did not seek fame and fortune, he simply did his favorite thing and generously shared his discoveries with the world. For the sake of scientific achievements, he refused a lot: unsettled personal life, lack of financial savings. The finale is usually tragic.
Childhood
Jules Cornu was artisan in Glo-la-Ferrier. He could repair, or even assemble from scratch any car. He spent his free time at the easel. In 1881, his wife Louise gave birth to a boy, who was named Paul. After that, the addition to the family took place annually. A total of 15 children were born.
Lisieux city in France
In 1890, a large and friendly family moved to the city of Lisieux in Normandy. There was more work here, and it was interesting - repairing bicycles, motors and sewing machines. Sons helped father. Once, Paul spied on a parent a drawing of some strange machine. It was an airship. The story about the design of flight equipment impressed the boy. It is not known whether Jules was able to realize his project, whether he sold it to someone, but he presented his heir with a dream. True, our hero began with a completely mundane design - at the age of 14 he improved the incubator.
Youth
The master with golden hands could not save up money to send his offspring to universities. He could ensure their future only by teaching them his wisdom. Having entered adolescence, Paul wanted to surprise his mentor with something. In 1898, he presented a bicycle with a motor to his court. The novelty impressed not only the addressee, today mopeds are no less popular than at the beginning of the twentieth century.
A year later, Cornu Jr. patented a rotary engine. Turning a bicycle into a lighter and more convenient analogue of a car made it more familiar with motors. The young man wanted to develop both a miniature version of the mechanism and a powerful engine. In 1900, he presented to the public a piston engine with a variable compression force. The child prodigy enjoyed creativity. He did not know that he had already made a serious contribution to the development of aircraft construction, and his inventions would be applied in the creation of military vehicles starting from the First World War.
Aircraft rotary engine
Into the sky
Having proved his worth, the young man began to build even more ambitious plans. If a two-wheeled iron horse can be made to run without applying the muscular strength of a person, then why not teach him to fly? It was easy to make the frame of the future aircraft from two light bicycle frames, but how to make this bird fly to the clouds?
No, gliders were already known. Paul Cornu did not repeat after anyone, he was looking for his way. In 1906 he concluded: his car would be lifted into the air by screws. The bet on this option was already made by the famous Breguet brothers, but their device was uncontrollable. The master began with the creation of prototypes, no one knew that the strange toys that this eccentric launches near his workshop are not for children. A year of hard work in complete solitude deeds its results - the world's first helicopter was built. Now it's time to try it out.
Helicopter Fields Cornu
Normal flight
The first balloonists were favored, so it was not difficult to find a site near the Coquenvilliers commune, where testing the new machine was allowed. On November 13, 1907, the inventor tried himself as a pilot and raised his brainchild half a meter above the ground. This made a splash.
Paul Cornu at the controls of his helicopter during a test flight
Estimates of pundits were diametrically opposed. Proponents of Cornu called him the successor of the case of Leonardo da Vinci, admired the audacity of the plan. Their opponents pointed out that risky amusements of a person who does not have a higher education will not be brought to good. The case ended with the fact that during the next tests of the rotorcraft, the device was tied to the ground with cables. To the one who sat at the helm, it only flattered. He knew that his invention lacked engine power and planned to solve this problem.
Pause
The era of brilliant madmen was approaching sunset. The sky was conquered, and now it was necessary to get used to it. Reliable devices were needed that could be mass-produced. What Paul Cornu collected in his garage did not meet the requirements in all respects. No one provided loans for the continuation of the work; I had to forget about the ballooner's career.
The time and effort that our hero spent on his helicopter turned into financial problems. The master had to continue working with mechanisms long known to him, if he did not want to die of hunger. Flying served him well - customers happily bicycles in the workshop of someone who recently flew up to the sky. Paul hoped that he would improve his financial situation and return to his passion.
The last years of his life, Paul Cornu assembled and sold bicycles
