Léger 1907 Hélicoptère
![]() In 1905 Maurice Léger had Ouviere from Marseille build a huge ill-fated helicopter at Monaco. A half-scale model was built first, with a 5.6 kW electric motor on the ground, and a connecting cable. The spoon-bladed aluminum propellers were 6.5 m in diameter, and the empty weight of the model was 110 kg. The full-scale machine appeared shortly after, an enormous construction for the period, with two coupled Antoinette engines, driving two contra-rotating propellers made of fabric-covered frames. The pilot and his passenger sat on the base with twin steering wheels. A biplane tail unit was fixed within the diameter of the rotors. It was destroyed on its first test.
|