THE AUTOGIRO: ITS CHARACTERISTICS AND 

 ACCOMPLISHMENTS ' 



By Habold F. Pitcaibn 

 President, Pitcnirn-Cierva Autoijiro Company of America, 



[With 9 plates] 



To reach a correct understanding of the Autogiro and the prin- 

 ciples which underlie its performance, I feel that it will first be 

 necessary to tell something of the man who has invented the most 

 remarkable aircraft known up to this time. 



Senor Juan de la Cierva is a Spanish gentleman of great per- 

 sonal charm and brilliance. In his own land he is a person of 

 real consequence. On the technical side, his genius undoubtedly 

 places him among the world's foremost mathematicians. 



His democratic manner, kindliness, and tirelessness in his work 

 have brought him the respect of all with whom he has come into 

 contact, and although he has received some of the highest of the 

 world's honors, he is among the plainest of men in his ways. He 

 is a tremendous worker; the present degree of perfection to which 

 he has attained in the Autogiro is due, almost in entirety, to his 

 efforts alone. Ho had faith in the principle which he first brought 

 forth, and in the face of many disappointments, due to machines 

 which refused to leave the ground, he persevered in his efforts until 

 the Autogiro has finally proven practical and safe. 



In his boyhood, Cierva, with two friends of his own age, built 

 and flew kites and gliders. Progressing further, they built, or 

 rather rebuilt, a power plane which flew more successfully than 

 when new. In 1912 a French pilot brought a French biplane to 

 Madrid for exhibition flights. People then were not as accustomed 

 to airplanes as they are now, and when this pilot landed the crowd 

 rushed in upon him, with the result that there was a serious acci- 

 dent. The machine was completely wrecked, although the pilot 

 himself was unhurt. 



Later, Cierva and his young friends approached the pilot with 

 the novel offer that they would rebuild the plane if he would test 



* Presented at the stated mePtluK of the Franklin Institute held Wednosdny, Nov. 20, 

 1020. Reprinted by permission from Journal of the Franklin Institute, vol. 209, No. 5, 

 May, 1930. 2G5 



