2-839-527 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

In 1928, Harold Pitcairn imported Juan de la Cierva's latest Autogiro, the C.8W (also known as the C.8 Mk.IV) to the United States as an experimental testbed for his own line of rotary-wing aircraft. This aircraft, as the first of its type in the United States, generated considerable interest in commercial and governmental circles. It validated Pitcairn's interest in the new category of aircraft and inspired other American pioneers to enter the field. The C.8W deserves recognition as the progenitor of the American gyroplane and as the first successful rotary-wing aircraft to fly in the United States