Enrico Forlanini’s experimental helicopter

Enrico Forlanini’s experimental helicopter is the first object to fly thanks to the thrust of an engine. It has no pilot and it is equipped with a light steam engine and two counter rotating propellers placed on the same axis. In 1877 it was presented in Milan to an audience of technicians, engineers and enthusiasts, where it rose about 13 meters and remained in the air for 20 seconds, gently landing back in its starting point.