The Lost Treasures of Maitland Bleecker: His Helicopter and Other Innovations

In 1926, a 23-year old Maitland Bleecker submitted a successful proposal to the Curtiss Airplane and Motor Company for an experimental helicopter. As Project Engineer, Bleecker oversaw the design and construction of a full-scale prototype and myriad test flights between 1930 and 1931. Due to the dire Depression economy, a simple gear failure would kill the entire project. Soon afterward, Bleecker's car was broken into, his projector and flight films all stolen—and with them the tangible proof his helicopter had flown. "One day I walked out of the hangar, left the helicopter and ramjet there, and have no idea what became of either of them." The lost treasures of Maitland Bleecker are unquestionably vast; hopefully, this paper will reclaim many of them by showing the impact of his genius on future helicopter innovations, while further providing evidence that he did, indeed, invent the first flyable single-rotor helicopter.