Juan de la Cierva (Cierva Juan de la)

(1895-1936)
Creator autogyro aircraft heavier than air, in which the lift created by a large rotor, located above the fuselage and rotating under the influence of air flow. Born September 21, 1895 in Murcia (Spain). He was educated at the High School traffic engineers in Madrid. Independently studied theoretical aerodynamics on the works of F. Lanchester and Zhukovsky. On competition warplanes Cierva presented bomber biplane with three engines and original Airfoil. The aircraft was tested in May 1919, but crashed on landing. This failure has led to the idea of design more sustainable and safe rotary wing aircraft. The first three cars failed. At the fourth with an altered structure in which the blades were attached to the hinge sleeve, Cierva made in January 1923 several demonstration flights, including the longest on the closed route length of 25 km. In 1925 the designer moved to England, where he founded the company 'Cierva autodzhayro' producing autogyros. September 18, 1928 in his autogyro flew across the Channel, and in 1930 flew from England to Spain. In 1929 Cierva autogyro exhibited at the National Air Show in Cleveland. Cierva Autogyro widely used in France, Germany, USA and Japan before World War II, when the first helicopters. Cierva was killed in a plane crash in Croydon (England) 19 December 1936.