De Bothezat helicopter

Self-described as "the world's greatest scientist and outstanding mathematician", and having written one of the first scientific papers on the aerodynamics of rotary-wing flight, based on his own principles and those of his assistant Ivan Jerome. Establishing a workshop at McCook Field in Dayton, Ohio, and working almost entirely without models or wind tunnels for testing, The aircraft had two control wheels, a control stick, and foot pedals for control, and hovering to a height of . The propellers for lateral control were soon found useless, and removed, while its original Le Rhône engine proved underpowered and was replaced by a Bentley rotary type. ==Cancellation==

Although de Bothezat's invention was hailed by Thomas Edison as "the first successful helicopter", Although considered a failure by the Army on account of its complexity and unreliability, de Bothezat's difficult personality not helping his cause, the "Flying Octopus" had still reached a significant level of achievement, and it would be over twenty years before an American helicopter would better the machine's performance. ==Specifications==