science · 24 February 1924 · 100 years ago
In 1924, U.S. Navy officials and the media witnessed the 95-sec flight of the latest design of a helicopter - designated No. 5 - built by Henry Berliner. It reached a height of 15-ft and could maneuver in a radius of 150-ft, at a speed up to about 40 mph. The 641-lb aircraft had rigid wings spanning 38-ft with a 13-ft diameter rotor mounted on each winf that provided the power for the flight. Although in the past two decades there had been trials of helicopters designed by others (including Berliner's father Emile on 11 Jul 1908), this day's test is claimed to be the first controlled helicopter flight. The aircraft - the oldest intact helicopter in the world - is now loaned by the Smithsonian Institution for display at Berliner's testing site in College Park Aviation Museum, Maryland.
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