This is cool...

Heli's Turn 100

I'm into helicopters. I have a couple RC ones...and I've even taken a few lessons in a Robinson R22 at the local airport.

Checkout this link.



A snipit of the text from the article:

1863, Call them "Helicopteres"

One vertical-flight enthusiast, Gustave Vicomte de Ponton d’Amécourt, designed a model flying machine using coaxial propellers and a coiled spring for propulsion. While that model could fly, another version using a steam engine had failed. Ponton d'Amecourt called his machines "helicopteres," a word derived from the Greek adjective for "spiral" and the noun "pteron," meaning "wing." Ponton d'Amecourt and his group of enthusiasts inspired Jules Verne to add helicopters to his stories.