Juan de la Cierva’s (Spain) model C.4 aircraft, commercially named an Autogiro, was the first successful gyroplane, or aircraft where lift is provided by rotating wings. It first flew at Getafe, Spain on 9 January 1923, after he had worked on the design for four years.

Within days he flew a two-and-one-half-mile closed course and, by 1928, had crossed the English Channel.