This man was the first to take off in a controlled rotorcraft. He was killed by a bomb that was not intended for him.
The fates of great people are often tragic. Our hero was not looking for fame and fortune, he just did what he loved and generously shared his discoveries with the world. For the sake of scientific achievements, he refused a lot: an unsettled personal life, lack of financial savings. The ending is usually tragic.
Childhood
Jules Cornu was an artisan at Glo-la-Ferrier. He could repair, or even rebuild any car from scratch. He spent his free time at his 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. In total, 15 children were born.
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. The sons helped their father. Once Paul spied on a drawing of some strange machine from his parent. It was an airship. The boy was impressed by the story about designing flight equipment. It is not known whether Jules was able to realize his project, whether he sold it to someone, but gave his heir 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 was never able to save money to send his offspring to universities. He could only secure their future by teaching them his wisdom. Entering his teens, Paul wanted to surprise his mentor with something. In 1898 he presented him with a motorized bicycle. 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. The transformation of the bicycle into a lighter and more convenient analogue of the car brought him closer to 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 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 used in the creation of combat vehicles starting with the First World War.
Into the sky
Having proved his worth, the young man began to make even more ambitious plans. If a two-wheeled iron horse can be made to run without the use of human muscle strength, then why not teach him to fly? It was easy to make the frame of the future aircraft from two lightweight bicycle frames, but how to make this bird rise to the clouds?
No, gliders were already known. Paul Cornu did not repeat after anyone, he was looking for his own path. In 1906 he concluded: his car will be lifted into the air by screws. The famous Breguet brothers had already bet on this option, but their apparatus was uncontrollable. The master started with creating prototypes, no one guessed that the strange toys that this eccentric launches near his workshop were not intended for children. A year of hard work in complete solitude of deeds brought its results - the world's first helicopter was built. Now is the time to test it.
Flight is normal
The first balloonists were favored, therefore it was not difficult to find a site near the Coquenville commune, where the tests of the new aircraft were 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.
The assessments of the pundits were diametrically opposed. Cornu's supporters called him the successor of the cause of Leonardo da Vinci, admired the audacity of the plan. Their opponents pointed out that the risky fun of a person who does not have a higher education will not lead to good. The case ended with the fact that during the next tests of the rotorcraft, the apparatus was tied to the ground with cables. The one who sat at the helm was only flattered. He knew that his invention lacked motor power and planned to solve this problem.
Pause
The era of genius madmen was drawing to a close. The sky had been conquered, and now it was necessary to get used to it. Reliable devices were required 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, and had to forget about the career of an aeronaut.
The time and effort that our hero spent on his helicopter turned into financial problems. The master had to continue working with the mechanisms he had known for a long time, if he did not want to die of hunger. The flights have served him well - customers happily bicycles in the workshop of someone who recently took to the skies. Paul hoped that he would improve his financial situation and return to his hobby.
Tragedy
When the Second World War began, it turned out that Paul Cornu did not have the means to leave France. Nobody expected a lonely old man in countries where peace and tranquility still reigned. The wonderful mechanic found himself in the territory occupied by the Nazis. The Nazis were not interested in the biography of this urban eccentric, they considered rumors about his magic machines to be fictions, and did not touch the inventor.
Paul Cornu died on June 6, 1944, on the day of the landing of the anti-Hitler coalition troops in Normandy. The life of a genius was cut short by a bomb that was intended for the invaders.
