Breguet-Richet Gyroplane No. 1
Breguet / Charles Richet · France · first flew 1907 · helicopter
The Breguet-Richet Gyroplane No. 1 was one of the very first rotary-wing aircraft to lift a man off the ground, achieving tethered hops in 1907 that stand among the earliest rotorcraft flights in history.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | High-mounted, rotary |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 1 × piston, fuselage-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | 8 m fuselage |
| T — Tail | No tailplane |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- four biplane rotor assemblies on X-frame
- no enclosed structure
- earliest helicopter attempt
Essentially a powered frame with four rotor clusters rather than an aircraft in any conventional sense. The four symmetrically arranged biplane rotor heads on an open X-frame make it instantly recognisable in any historical illustration — nothing else looks remotely like it.
Specifications
- The Breguet-Richet Gyroplane No. 1 has a length of 8 m (26 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 8 m (26 ft).
- Typical crew: 1.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
Constructed by Louis Breguet and physiologist Charles Richet, the Gyroplane No. 1 consisted of a lightweight steel-tube X-frame carrying four biplane rotor units, each pair of blades driven by a single 45 hp Antoinette engine. On 29 August 1907 it lifted its pilot briefly off the ground — though the machine required four men to stabilise it and could not be considered truly controllable.
Variants
A second machine, the Gyroplane No. 2, was built the following year with a different rotor arrangement.
Where you'll see it
Experimental only; no operational use.
Related aircraft
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