<P> That same year , fellow French inventor Paul Cornu designed and built a Cornu helicopter that used two 20 - foot ( 6 m ) counter-rotating rotors driven by a 24 hp ( 18 kW ) Antoinette engine . On 13 November 1907 , it lifted its inventor to 1 foot ( 0.3 m ) and remained aloft for 20 seconds . Even though this flight did not surpass the flight of the Gyroplane No. 1 , it was reported to be the first truly free flight with a pilot . Cornu 's helicopter completed a few more flights and achieved a height of nearly 6.5 feet ( 2 m ) , but it proved to be unstable and was abandoned . </P>
<P> That same year , fellow French inventor Paul Cornu designed and built a Cornu helicopter that used two 20 - foot ( 6 m ) counter-rotating rotors driven by a 24 hp ( 18 kW ) Antoinette engine . On 13 November 1907 , it lifted its inventor to 1 foot ( 0.3 m ) and remained aloft for 20 seconds . Even though this flight did not surpass the flight of the Gyroplane No. 1 , it was reported to be the first truly free flight with a pilot . Cornu 's helicopter completed a few more flights and achieved a height of nearly 6.5 feet ( 2 m ) , but it proved to be unstable and was abandoned . </P>
who made the first helicopter in the world
who made the first helicopter in the world
Paul Cornu
Paul Cornu