Breguet-Richet Gyroplane

The Breguet-Richet Gyroplane was an early French experimental quadcopter rotary-wing aircraft developed by Breguet Aviation.

The aircraft had an uncovered open steel framework with a seat for the pilot and a powerplant at the centre.

Radiating from the central structure were four wire-braced tubular steel arms, each bearing a superimposed pair of four-bladed rotors.

It was neither controllable nor steerable, but it was the first time that a rotary-wing device had lifted itself and a pilot into the air.

It flew at least once in April 1909 before being destroyed when the company's works were badly damaged in a severe storm.