The Papin Rouilly Gyroptère (1913-1914) wins the "What the Heck is That?" award hands down; not only for it's alarming design, but also because, in a fit of insanity, Papin and Rouilly actually tried building one.

The gyroptère was a sort of the helicopter version of a flying wing-- except that the "flying rotor" (if that's the phrase I want) was only half a rotor counterbalanced by the turbine motor that whizzed 'round and 'round at the other end.  Meanwhile, the pilot sat, or clung for dear life, in a despun basket at the pivot where he steered the contraption with an air jet at the end of a long boom and tried not to think about what would happen if a bit of grit got into the basket bearings.

The principle of the gyroptère is based on the maple seed, which is Nature's own helicopter and can be seen in festive squadrons flickering in the Sun as they spin windborne on a late summer's day.  Messers Papin and Rouilly figured that since Nature had done all the hard R&D, why not harness these pancake syrup producing aerodynamics for mankind?

Unfortunately, they forgot that maple seeds, while festive, are designed to fly in a generally downward direction.

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