Aircraft with rotating propeller-like blades (rotors) on top that can hover in place, take off vertically, and fly in any direction without needing a runway.
From Greek 'helix' (spiral) and 'ptera' (wings), literally 'spiral wings.' The term was coined in the late 19th century before functional helicopters existed, by French engineer Gustave Ponton d'Amécourt who designed an experimental flying machine.
Helicopters seem like 20th-century inventions, but Leonardo da Vinci sketched a spinning screw-shaped flying machine in 1485 called the 'helical screw.' No working helicopter actually flew until 1939, 450 years later, because engineers needed powerful engines and materials strong enough to handle the physics—a reminder that good ideas don't become reality until technology catches up.
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