First controlled flight by an Autogiro (Cierva C.4)

Description

The first controlled take-off and landing by an Autogiro. It should be noted that other references state different dates for this milestone. The source for this milestone (stated below) details all the events leading to the first flight. The date stated here is the first time the aircraft flew under control, although the first flight with flapping blades had taken place earlier. Performance gathering flights (confirmed by an independent witness) did not take place until Jan 31 1923.

The aircraft was a Cierva C.4 Autogiro and Lieutenant Alejandro Gómez Spencer was the pilot. The site of this achievement is now an AHS International Vertical Flight Heritage SIte.

Note: The term 'Autogiro' is used wherever a gyroplane was built under a license from Cierva.

Source: The "autogiro", Moreno-Caracciolo, M, NACA-TM-218, Jul 01 1923, Page 7